Tangled Web
by ChaosChick12
Summary: Sequel to Fresh Start: As winter roles around, Mira and Kise try to figure out just what kind of relationship they have as new faces join the school with new problems arising. Ties will be tested as the Winter Cup finals draw near. Rated for language and a few suggestive scenes.
1. Ch 1 New Chapter

Hi guys I'm back! I promised a sequel and I have delivered! I am going to warn you it may seem a tad slow at first but it'll pick up before long. This time around it's gonna focus a little more on the relationship aspect, but I will have jam packed basketball scenes that you all love.

As always I would love to thank the lovely CoolCat for letting me borrow her OC's for my stories. She has two here this time, Kanika as always and a new face Yuri.

Disclaimer: First and last time only I don't own Kuroko no Basket or any of its characters I'm just borrowing them. I do however own all of my OC's mention in the story. I also don't own CoolCat's OC's she is just letting me borrow them as well.

~*New Chapter*~

"Finally back." Mira smiled to herself as she stood in the entrance to the Kaijo gym.

The last few weeks had been a blur. Once summer break had started Mira had to go back to the states to tie up some loose ends after the Alexander debacle. It involved a lot of court visits, a lot of legalities, and a lot of apologizing from her family. There were hugs, kisses, tears, and finally relief that the nightmare that had started almost a year before was now over. Best of all? Mira had gotten to spend her free time with her old friends. They'd gone to their old hangouts, bounced around from each other's places, and just had a blast whenever Mira hadn't been trapped indoors. Now they were finally back in Japan with school starting up once more. Which meant it was time to get ready for the Winter Cup.

"Not gonna lie, I'm kinda bummed I don't get to play with you." Jason yawned. He reached up to play with his braid, only to frown at the slightly constricting Kaijo uniform.

"I know. But at least I'll get to have you guys till this year is up." Mira grinned widely. "You know the others are going to kill you once they find out you swapped your paperwork."

"If I'm gonna be stuck here it has to be with you. I'm not going to waste half the day waiting to hang out when you're dog tired after practice." Jason slid out of his jacket, folding it up and placing it near his bag on the ground. "Besides, we both know you're the only one who can keep me in check."

"True." Mira shrugged, dropping her own bag near Jason's. "So, first to ten?"

"Yeah. But there's no way in hell I'm playing in these clothes. I feel stiff." Jason made a face of disgust at his uniform. Mira couldn't contain her laughter as the two headed off to the locker rooms to change into something a bit more comfortable before they hit the court.

Meanwhile….

Kise was practically on cloud nine. School had picked up again, which meant he would get to see Mira. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't missed the fiery red head. Practice over the summer just hadn't been the same without Mira around. He missed their usual routine of bicker, fight, practice, bicker, getting beaten up in some form, and then ending with a light one on one before going out to get something to eat on the way to the train station. That….and he wanted to confirm something. Kise needed to know if his feelings for Mira were real or just something fleeting. In the past he'd had girls he'd thought he'd liked, only to end up getting bored once things started to go his way. Was this the same thing for Mira? Or was it something real? It was something he needed to know before doing anything else. Because not only did he have Kagami to worry about should he do something to upset Mira, he now had four terrifying guys who would do anything to protect Mira. The one Kise had to worry about the most? Jason.

"Kise-kun?" Kise was pulled from his thoughts by a timid voice. The boy turned to see a silver haired beauty besides him.

"Sorry Takeshita-chan. I guess I got lost in my own little world there." Kise apologized to the girl.

The girl giggled softly at Kise as the two picked up conversation. Yuri Takeshita. She was a second year like him. The girl had pale skin and came up to about Kise's chin. She absently toyed with her long silvery braid that hung over her shoulder. She was slender with a doll like face that accentuated her sapphire eyes.

"I think you'll like it here. Especially after you meet Mira. I know you two will get along great." Kise beamed brightly. "Ouch!"

"Huh? Oh hey Kise." Mira called out to the poor boy holding his face at the moment.

"Kise-kun! Are you hurt?" Yuri dropped to her knees beside the boy who was trying to get over the stinging sensation in his face.

"He'll live. He's taken harder hits than that." Mira grinned, squatting down near them.

"Oops. Guess I hit it too hard. My bad." Jason chuckled. Seeing Kise on the ground first thing in the morning was a good way to start out the day.

"Mira…You're back!" Kise, just now realizing who was beside him, threw his arms around the red head. The two hit the ground hard, shocking the girl beside them.

Kise practically smothered Mira as the girl's protests fell on deaf ears. An audible growl could be heard from Jason who began stomping his way over to the two. His worry wasn't warranted though as a well placed elbow allowed Mira to break free. Kise held his gut, tears streaming down his face with his usual whining following. Mira shot a glare down at the boy before moving to retrieve her ball.

"To think I missed you." Mira grumbled, turning to head back inside.

"You missed me?" Kise snapped out of his whining mode, crawling to his knees with tears of joy in his eyes.

"Don't. Even. Think. About. It." Jason hissed. He stepped between Mira and Kise, rage radiating off of him.

"Jason, down boy. Remember what we talked about." Mira called out from inside the gym. "When you pick yourself up you can have winner Kise."

The blond cheered happily as he scrambled to his feet. Yuri hung back a bit, smiling to herself. Were these the friends Kise had been talking about? They were a lively bunch that was for sure. Yuri thought about taking a seat and watching the game unfold….until she saw the interaction between Mira and Jason. The way Jason looked and acted around Mira radiated undying devotion. The girl held a hand to her chest as anger and pain began to flair within her. It was these emotions that kept her rooted to her spot as she tried to desperately block out what she felt now.

"Takeshita-chan you coming?" Kise called back to the girl.

"I think I'll just relax out here." She gave Kise a bright smile before turning and heading towards one of the trees. A look of concern crossed Kise's face as the boy stopped in his tracks. He looked from the gym to where Yuri was and let out a sigh.

"Mira I'll be right back!" Kise took off after the girl, leaving the two basketball players standing on the court.

"Little Red?" Jason arched a brow at Mira whose faced betrayed nothing. While he may not like Kise, he wasn't stupid. He knew there was something special between Kise and Mira.

"What? It's not like we're dating. He can talk to whoever he wants." Mira shrugged before turning back to the court. Heading to the far goal this time.

While Mira would never admit it, she felt a small pang in her chest when Kise had chased after the girl. What was the new girl to Kise? The two had walked to school together. If it was any other day Mira wouldn't think anything of it. Plenty of his admirers tried to sneak a chance to get Kise alone. Especially to and from school. But it was the first day back from summer break. Meaning that the two had planned to come to school together. The two had looked awfully good standing next to each other too…

'Wait? What the hell am I thinking?' Mira shook her head, clicking her tongue in annoyance at herself.

"If you need to talk." Jason checked the ball to Mira at the top of the key while taking up defense.

"Maybe later. Right now I need a good street match." She smirked at Jason who knew exactly what the girl was seeking.

_._._

Despite the morning's little debacle the day passed as well as any first day back. Jason, to his utter disgust, was in the same class as Kise. The blond had to admit that the punk had a lot of similar personality traits that Mira did. Such as glaring at Kise's fan girls whenever they got too close to the boy or made too much noise around him. It led to the teachers all chastising the boy at one point or another, but it didn't bother the American. Jason made sure to show model respect to the teacher and pay attention in class whenever lessons began. It sure helped to keep the teaching staff off of him about all his piercings. Despite his outer appearance, the boy was smart.

"Why does he have to be smart too?" Kise whined from his seat, watching Jason put his stuff away as the bell for lunch rang. Waiting near the door for him? Mira and Kanika both had bento in hand as Jason's harsh demeanor changed immediately upon joining the two girls. Mira looked past Jason to Kise, motioning with her head with an eyebrow raised in curiosity as to whether he would join them or not.

"You coming?" Mira called out when Kise didn't move immediately.

"Yeah! Hang on!" Kise called back, moving to grab his bento before looking to Yuri to join him.

"Kise-kun, you should go without me." Yuri said softly. "I'll be fine."

"Come on Takeshita-chan. Mira is the one I wanted you to meet. I promise once you two talk I know you two will hit it off." Kise promised with that million watt smile of his.

Yuri looked past Kise to the group patiently waiting near the door for them. Kanika glanced to the two second years while Mira and Jason were engaged in their own conversation. The girl swallowed hard before pushing out of her seat and nodding timidly. Kise's face seemed to light up as he bounced over to the others to let them know they'd have one more joining them for their meal this time.

"Everyone! This is Takeshita-chan! She's a friend from my modeling company. She just recently transferred here." Kise announced before turning towards the shy girl.

"I'm Takeshita Yuri. It's nice to meet you all." Yuri bowed slightly to the others.

"West Mira. Don't stand on formality for me. You saw this morning I don't exactly follow the Japanese etiquette. Just be yourself." Mira shrugged before turning and leading them towards the stairs. Jason gave Yuri a cursory glance before falling in step with Mira.

"I'm Ichinose Kanika. Don't mind Mira, she's always like that. She grows on you." Kanika smiled warmly to the older girl.

The group made their way to their usual corner of the cafeteria before sitting down and starting on their meals. Yuri opted for sitting by Kanika who seemed a little more her type. The raven haired kohai didn't see the need to try and pressure her into talking. And Kise was kept busy with Mira and Jason to really pay attention to her. Yuri was grateful for Kise. While it was true she had just transferred, it was because of Kise that she chose Kaijo. She had been sinking into depression hard since the 'incident'. She had lucked out that her next job had been with Kise. He'd helped to pull her from her darkness and offer her a new start. Even if he didn't know the cause behind her problem. It was because of her gratitude that Yuri remained silent about her thoughts on Mira.

Yuri didn't know how she was supposed to get along great with Mira. The girl was loud, brash, and held almost no respect for Kise who was her senpai. But she was happy, she had an air of weightlessness about her, a sense of freedom Yuri long for. While the red head may be her total opposite, it wasn't the reason keeping her from wanting to engage the younger girl. It was because of how Jason treated Mira. Jason looked at Mira like she was his everything. In his eyes there was devotion, warmth, love, trust….he looked at Mira the same way Yuri used to look at someone herself. Which meant that Mira held the same power someone once held over her. Mira was using Jason. Just as Yuri herself had once been used and abused. Yuri bit her lip, praying that it was as Kise had told her earlier that morning. Perhaps she was just seeing things everywhere she looked. The silver haired girl prayed it was just that.

Lunch ended then, leaving the second years to head back to their floor while Mira and Kanika returned to their classroom. The day passed without incident after that. Two boys in particular willed for the clock to move faster until the last bell finally rang. Jason practically flew out of his seat and out the door with Kise wanting to do the same. He only stopped himself when he caught Yuri out of the corner of his eye.

"Sorry if I'm keeping you from something Kise-kun." Yuri quickly gathered her own things.

"No, it's okay. I did promise to stick with you during your first day here didn't I?" Kise sat back on a desk, crossing his long legs and allowed Yuri to properly gather her things up. Basketball practice wouldn't start for another good twenty minutes or so. He'd have time to make it there with Yuri in tow.

Meanwhile…..

"Where's Kise?" Mira asked Jason when she saw him near the shoe lockers.

"Not sure. I thought he was right behind me. Mira?" Said red heard currently had her eyebrows knitted together in annoyance.

"What is with Kise today? First he abandons a chance to play this morning and now he's lagging on practice?" Mira whispered more to herself than the other two walking with her.

"Maybe he's waiting on Takeshita-chan?" Kanika offered. "She is new here. She may not know her way around yet. Remember, you got lost a couple times yourself when you first got to Kaijo."

"True." Mira muttered in response.

Jason spared a glance back towards the direction of the classroom. Stifling his guard dog instincts, he guided Mira towards the court. Making sure to type out a quick message to the others before turning his phone on silent. Jason parted ways with Mira once they reached the court. The girl took off to change while the boy offered to help Kanika out.

Mira gave herself a mental note to thank Jason later for not prying. She knew with the way he watched her that he probably knew something was off with her. He would wait for her to talk to him later though when they were alone. The girl needed time to herself for now. She changed into her practice gear before heading on to the court. She was greeted by her teammates as questions about her time in the states began. Mira answered each in turn, giving the guys the full details since they knew about why she'd disappeared on them for a month. The boys teased her for a bit until all chattered stop when Kise came dashing in. Mira was ready to tease the blond for running late, till her sarcastic remark got stuck in her throat. The reason? Yuri was standing in the doorway off to the side as Kise's fans began to congregate. Mira let her comment die as her mind began to run rampant.

'Is she really just a friend? Kise's been sticking awfully close to the girl all day. He even made it a point to bring her to lunch. I highly doubt that girl had any problem making new friends today. So why bring her along? Why wait around for her? Could she be? If that's the case then why did Kise hold my hand that time? Or is that just how he always is and I'm just stupid for thinking it might've meant something?' Question upon question filled Mira's mind. It was annoying the girl greatly.

"I swear I hate being a damn female." Mira grunted to herself. "Hey Jason!"

The boy turned to see Mira storming towards him. A slight grin appeared on his face as Mira made a fist and swung as hard as she could towards him. Jason held his hand up and caught the punch. The Kaijo boys all froze, wondering just who Mira was picking a fight with this time. Mira took a deep calming breath and let out slowly as Jason lowed her hand. Mira looked up, her violet orbs saying a silent 'thank you' to the boy. One benefit of having Jason around. He could handle anything Mira threw at him. Jason nodded his head at the girl before motioning with his eyes towards the court. Mira waved over her shoulder as she jogged back to her team. All the boys promptly questioning her actions just as Kise walked out.

"What did I miss?" The boy looked to Nakamura for clarification as to what the buzz was about.

"West-chan being West-chan." Was all he would say as they all lined up and began drills.

Once things picked back up, everyone fell back into routine. On the court, Mira could forget all her problems. She was back with her team. She was back with her on court partner. Her and Kise fell into their familiar pattern once again as they ran drills, went over plays, and held mock games between the first and second string. Things were as they should be. But the minute practice ended…instead of pestering for a one on one Kise had taken off to go see Yuri who was still standing there against the wall. Mira felt her chest tighten up again as she watched the two.

"Mira, go change." Jason called out, tossing the girl a towel.

"Why?" The girl recognized the mischievous twinkle in his eye. He had something planned. Mira glanced over to Kise once more before turning for the locker rooms. "Guess I've got nothing else going on huh?"

When Mira was close to the locker room, it was then Kise turned to see his favorite red head taking off. He tilted his head as confusion coated his feature. He'd figured Mira would've waited for him so that they could've had their customary one on one match. So why had she taken off to change. Kise looked to Jason, only to be met with a glare that froze him in his tracks. It'd been awhile since he'd seen the punk's death glare.

"How come Mira went to change?" Kise managed to squeak out.

"Clearly your priorities were elsewhere." Jason motioned to Yuri with his chin. "To think she'd looked forward to playing you too? Only to be blown off twice in one day."

"Jason whatever you have planned better involve ice cream!" Mira called out. Both boys turned to see Mira in her standard sweats and cut shirt.

"We can get ice cream…"

"After we beat the shit out of Jason…"

"Jason you bastard!"

The red head looked up in surprise to see Chase and Chance storming towards Jason with Malacai not too far behind them. Mira looked from the others to Jason who gave her that all knowing look. The girl shook her head as a grin crossed her face. She ran towards the others and quickly joined the conversation. Mira's mood picked up immediately as the three constantly switched from talking to her to chewing out Jason for swapping schools. Jason spared one last look over his shoulder at a confused Kise. Locking eyes with the boys to make sure he got the message Jason was trying to convey. You hurt Mira. Now we're going to fix it.

"Huh? I guess Mira isn't going to play with you today Kise-senpai?" Kanika asked the older boy who was only just now realizing how he'd made the girl feel.

"I'm such an idiot~." Kise sighed loudly…

'It's as I feared. That girl is like him. She has those boys wrapped around her finger without them even realizing what she's doing. And now she's trying to do the same to Kise. I can't let someone like her take away Kise's light. Mine may be gone, but I can still protect his.' Yuri thought to herself, narrowing her eyes at Mira's retreating figure.

* * *

First chapter down. We got to meet Yuri right away and got a slight taste of what she's like. Mira and Kise are both trying to figure out their feelings, all while Jason is trying not to kill Kise. And don't worry I didn't forget about the budding romance between Kanika and Aomine. They'll get a bigger part this time around no worries.

I hope you like this little introduction and plan to stick around for more. Can't wait to see what you all think!


	2. Ch 2 Distance

Alright everyone quick note: Updates will be happening on hopefully every few weeks and that me being optimistic. I'm in school so it's gonna take up most of my time studying and getting projects done. But I will make time to write and update. Just bear with me!

~*Distance*~

Mira wasn't dumb. Since she'd returned to school Kise had been acting differently. The cause behind this was his new 'friend', Yuri Takeshita. Mira herself had nothing against the girl. She didn't know her and had no reason to hate her. But she was growing increasingly annoyed with the girl. Because for some reason Yuri didn't like Mira. At first, Mira had thought she was just another crazy Kise fan girl. Wouldn't be the first time the red head had come across girls like her. Jason didn't seem to think so however.

"It's almost like she's cock blocking you, for lack of a better analogy." Jason sipped on his juice as the two lounged around outside. Kanika had to talk to the teacher about her grades and Kise was too busy with Yuri.

"I just don't get why the girl openly despises me. I haven't talked to her but the one time. What the hell is her problem?" Mira leaned against her friend, full pout mode in effect while trying to figure out this latest conundrum.

"Maybe she sees you as a threat? I mean, and I know you don't want to hear this, but what if pretty boy likes this girl? She may want to secure her position by pushing you away from Kise and making sure he spends all his free time with her." Jason suggested innocently.

"You might be right. And why wouldn't I want to hear this?" Mira turned to look at Jason who merely arched a brow at her. "What?"

"Really? It's obvious you like him Little Red." Jason smirked at the girl who rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm not sure that's even what this emotion is. Besides, I'm not exactly a winner when it comes to picking guys." She muttered with annoyance coating her features.

"Well I'm sure that's what it is. You like the guy. As for how deeply you feel about him remains to be seen. Trust me, what you feel isn't just gratitude for someone who helped you to regain what you lost. I know that feeling all too well." Jason looked down at his friend with a soft smile on his face. "While I don't care much for him, he was there for you when we weren't. But I am irritated that he pulled that shit with you during your party and seems to be conveniently pushing you to the side now."

Mira let the subject die there. She knew Jason had a point. Kise and her had been extremely close. She'd grown used to having the boy always with her. Like her own personal sunshine. Always there to pull her from her dark thoughts and show her what it was like to bathe in the warmth of others again. Now he'd pulled a one eighty and had started shifting his attention elsewhere. Even if it'd only been a couple of weeks, Mira knew things had changed. The only reason she didn't say anything to Kise was because he was now becoming someone else's source of strength as he'd done for her. Mira could see it on his face. She could see it in the way Kise treated Yuri. It was very similar to how he'd treated her before Mira had accepted him as a friend. He was acting as if he was handling something fragile. There was more to the picture that what they could see. For now, she would be patient and wait to see what would happen.

_._._

What was supposed to be a temporary thing turned into a full time presence. Mira hated to admit it, but Jason could be right. Kise might've finally found himself someone he wanted to be with. After all the two did look good together walking down the hallways. They had appeared more frequently together for modeling jobs. And they had been getting much more chummy as of late. Yuri made sure to carefully steer Kise away from Mira during school hours, which Mira just ignored. She was not going to fall for the older girl's baiting. Besides, she still had Kise on the court. Yuri couldn't take that away from them. On the court things could remain the same. Their easy as breathing friendship flourished. But the minute practice was over, Yuri was back.

"I'm telling you something's off." Mira leaned against the lockers after changing once practice had ended. "She's too clingy."

"And I'm telling you she needs someone to help her work through her issues. Not everyone shuts people out when they have something going on. Normal people ask for help when they have a problem." Kise sighed, tensing up a few moments later when he realized what he said. "Um…."

"So now I'm not normal?" Mira leaned on Kise's back, facing away from the boy with a smile on her face.

"You know what I mean!" Kise hollered. Mira pushed off the boy as he stood up and turned to face her. "I mean she has a normal female reaction to things troubling her. Not everyone tries to be strong and stubborn by shutting others out. Not everyone tries to handle things on their own."

"I let you help me didn't I?" Mira folded her hands across her chest. She looked up at Kise who closed the distance between the two with a light smile on his face.

"After fighting with me over it. Look, all I'm saying is that Takeshita-chan needs help. I'm the one who invited her to come to Kaijo in the first place since she was having trouble at her old school. Technically she's my responsibility. Don't tell me you're getting jealous?" Kise teased, leaning over and pressing his forehead to Mira's.

"Not on your life." Mira smirked, holding his gaze with ease. "Whom you choose to be friends with and how you chose to spend your time is your own business. I'm just saying the girl gives off a bad vibe. Don't expect me to play nice with her. If you want to hang out with her, do it without me."

"Mira~ why do you have to be like that?" Kise whined, trapping the girl in a hug.

"Kise Ryota you have five seconds to release me." Mira threatened with her anger cross pulsing faster by the minute.

"What if I don't want to?" Kise challenged.

Mira swallowed hard. This was usually the part where Kise prattled like an idiot before Mira found some way to break free. Instead, he was staring into her eyes with a very serious expression. He kept a gentle but firm grip on the girl. And his hands were resting near her waist. The last time Kise had looked at her with such an intense gaze had been when they'd done the modeling job together. Just like then she was left flustered and a bit speechless.

"Mira?" Kanika's voice broke the spell as Mira realized where she was at and the predicament she was in.

The crimson haired (and faced) girl reared back and brought her head forward hard. Forcing Kise to release her as Mira shot a look at him. She temporarily contemplated kicking Kise as well when she saw the sheepish grin on his face. Kanika poked her head around the corner then with Mira's phone in hand.

"What's up?" Kanika handed the phone over to Mira. An excited smile played on the raven haired girl's face as she waited for her friend to read the txt. "Hey! Akashi said their school agreed to have a joint training camp with us! Oh! And Tatsuya is supposed to have a practice match somewhere in the area tomorrow too! You guys wanna go watch?"

"Yeah!" The two shouted together at the same time. Mira ran off to let the rest of the team know the good news. It would seem things were looking up finally.

_._._

Kanika didn't know what to say to Mira. Even the others thought something was off with their fiery point guard. But Mira just smiled and cheered for Murisakibara and Himuro as the practice match got under way. Everyone had known that Mira had been looking forward to finally doing something together as a team. But Kise had gotten a last minute job that he couldn't get out of. Seemed like Kise had been blowing off any plans Mira had been trying to make with him lately.

"Kise has seemed a bit busier than usual lately." Nakamura noted, keeping his eyes on the game.

"Think it might be a girlfriend? That new girl is always around." Hayakawa mentioned. He was soon up and cheering for an amazing rebound made by Murisakibara.

"Kise-senpai has said she's just a friend! Nothing more." Kanika huffed. "Mira?"

"I'm fine Kanika. If Kise said it was an important job then I believe him." Despite her words, Mira gripped her hands together tightly.

Even though he had a game going on at the moment, it didn't escape Himuro's notice that something was wrong with Mira. One quick glance over the Kaijo group told him why Mira's mood was in the dumps. For now, Himuro turned his focus to the game at hand. The game was a blow out as per usual and the Yosen boys debated where to go eat before heading back home. It was then Himuro took the chance to go find his old friend. Standing near the entrance with her own team was Mira.

"Hey. Mind if I steal her from you for a bit?" Himuro asked the Kaijo team, looping an arm around Mira's shoulders and pulling her towards him.

"Tatsuya?" Mira wondered what he was up to. He flashed the small girl a wink before looking back to her teammates.

"Senpais, I'll go with Mira to make sure she's okay." Kanika volunteered, skipping to her friend's side quickly.

"Alright. If you two need anything you let us know okay?" Nakamura called out before the Kaijo boys took off.

"Muro-chin. Oh? Is Mi-chin coming to eat with us?" Murisakibara asked through a mouth full of candy.

"Yup." Himuro smiled broadly, leading the two girls with him and catching up to his team.

Amazingly the Yosen players didn't mind the tagalongs. Mainly because they weren't Himuro fangirls but a player and manager who knew and understood the game. That, and Mira helped to keep Murisakibara in check. Which was something the coach desperately wanted to know as she sat by the girl and began quizzing her. It was good to just forget their worries and catch up. Himuro offered Mira a sense of comfort, of home. Having been childhood friends he knew what to say and do better than almost anyone else to help pull Mira out of her funk. He also knew when to pry and when to let Mira talk. The two headed outside for some air. They walked a short way before stopping on a bench near a park.

"I noticed your ace wasn't with your team today." Himuro swapped to English to help make Mira more comfortable.

"He had a modeling job come up last minute. Something he couldn't get out of. Seems he's been kept pretty busy as of late." Mira grumbled, annoyance leaking into her tone heavily. With Himuro she didn't have to pretend or hide anything. She was allowed to be her bitchy self since he'd already experienced it first hand.

"Meaning?" Himuro pressed lightly.

Mira heaved a sigh before letting it all spill out. Her frustrations and worries seemed to just roll off her tongue as she told Himuro about the new girl and what her presence was doing not only to the team but her friendship with Kise as well. When she was done the two sat in silence together.

"Sounds like you care for Kise very much. I'm jealous." Himuro laughed lightly to break the calm.

"Honestly—I don't know what it is I feel for Kise. I know he was a big part in helping me get back to who I used to be. But is he just a friend? Do I have a crush on him? Is he something more? Tatsuya….I'm so confused I don't know what to do. My mind has been in a jumbled mess since he held my hand. And the other day to he held me in a hug and wouldn't let go. Part of me liked it. But then there's this girl and he says they're just friends and…." Mira threw her hands up in frustration before falling against Himuro.

"What does your heart say to do?" Himuro gently wrapped an arm around the girl and stroked her shoulder.

"To trust him and see how things go. But it's hard to do that when it feels like that girl is purposefully trying to keep us apart." The girl sounded lost and dejected. For once, she was showing her feminine side.

"Then have faith. If Kise is smart then he'll find a way to make things work and admit his feelings for you. But if he keeps dodging things and leaving you with questions, then it would be best to just ignore the feelings you think you have for him. Don't torture yourself over someone who is barely making time for you as it is. Some things you can't control Mira. It is a hard thing to let things go and play out as they may. Don't worry though. I'm here should you need someone. Any time. I promise." Himuro lightly kissed the top of her head.

"Thanks Tatsuya. I feel better." Mira smiled up at the older boy before pushing herself out of his arms.

Kanika and Mira said their goodbyes to the Yosen boys and their coach at the station. Their trains taking off separate ways into the night. Himuro sat quietly in thought, his music playing in his ears as memories from the past began to surface. One from a couple of years ago. A time when he'd hated himself for saying the words he had then.

" _Tatsuya, I like you." A young Mira confessed after a hard fought street match._

" _Mira?" Himuro was stunned by her sudden confession as the girl fought against the embarrassment she was currently feeling._

" _You're good looking, a great player, smart, and have always there for me. It'd be hard for me not to like you. But you probably don't feel the same for me huh?" Mira laughed, not expecting Himuro to admit his undying love for her._

 _The girl had always thought too little of herself when it came to the opposite sex. She had it in her head that since she could knock guys around fairly well and had a bad temper that no one would see the girl for who she really was. Himuro had though. Mira was bright, a good ball player in her own right, easy going, and was cute. He had always had a soft spot for Mira and it had only grown watching her go from an awkward kid to the young woman before him. Her confession had floored Himuro because it had seemed like Mira had never seen Himuro like that. Always treating him like one of the family since Kagami had introduced them during Mira's first visit. And as much as he wanted to respond in the way Mira wanted to hear, he hated himself for what he was going to say next._

" _Aw Mira, I'm flattered. But you know you're just like a sister to me right?" The words felt awful coming off his tongue as Mira nodded her head. Only her eyes gave away the slight pain she was doing her best to push back._

" _I know. But I had to tell you. You know, the whole 'no regrets' thing and all." Mira grinned broadly, masking how dejected she felt at the moment._

" _I know. It's who you are. Besides, you deserve someone who's going to be there for you. I can't anymore." Himuro smoothed out a frizzed out piece of hair on Mira's head as the girl's violet eyes widened in shock._

" _What do you mean?" She asked, not liking the look on Himuro's face._

" _My family is returning to Japan. We're leaving next week. I'm sorry Mira." Himuro said softly as he let his hand fall._

" _Great. First Taiga, now you?" Mira hugged the boy hard, burying her face in his chest._

" _I know. I'm sorry. I promise to keep in touch though okay?" He held the girl at arm's length as the two looked at each other._

" _Alright. I'll make sure to visit when we go see Taiga." Mira grinned broadly._

Himuro had always regretted not telling Mira how he'd really felt. And when the girl had suddenly shown up out of nowhere it had shocked him. Old feelings had re-emerged and he couldn't help himself for wanting to get close to Mira again. Instead, Kise had already filled that roll. Little spikes of jealously had popped up here and there, but Himuro could tell Mira cared for the guy. So he'd backed off. But now Mira was hurting again. And this time it was because of Kise.

'I didn't say it then and I regretted it. But should you hurt Mira again Kise, I won't stand by any longer. She is precious to me. I won't lose her again.' Himuro promised himself.

* * *

I'm sure many of you suspected in Fresh Start but yes, Himuro likes Mira. I've always like Himuro as a character and figured he'd make for good love rivalry material. Pretty boy against Pretty boy if you will lol. And yes, naturally Himuro won't ruin anything but he's not exactly going to sit by and just be an idle observer either. I hope you all enjoyed!


	3. Ch 3 Accusations

Alright I know I'm a bit late with this update and I apologize. It's hard to find time to write when you get thrown into nothing but chaos in the beginning of a semester. Anyways I won't ramble for too long. I hope you all enjoy!

~*Accusations*~

Kise looked at his phone for the millionth time that night. He kept expecting to see an angry txt from Mira at any moment. No matter how many times he checked his phone however, there were still no new messages. He heaved a heavy sigh before finally resigning himself to the fact that Mira wasn't going to bother him. That could either be good or bad. Kise decided to believe it was good. He quickly changed out of the clothes he'd used for his job and back into his uniform. Yuri was already waiting for Kise. She flashed Kise a smile before bouncing through the door before him and out to the street.

"Today was a good day. I got all my shots done in one try." Yuri gave a 'v' for victory, expecting Kise to be happy with her.

"I lost my focus about half way through. But thankfully I don't have to come back." He admitted, scratching the back of his neck as his thoughts began to wander again.

"Kise-kun?" Yuri leaned forward to look at the boy who sighed yet again.

"I wonder if Mira is still up. I should apologize for today." Kise pulled his phone out yet again and began searching for Mira's number.

"It's late. You shouldn't bother your friends. What if they're studying or asleep?" Yuri rushed out, waving her hands around as a distraction. The less contact he had with said girl the better in her book.

"True. I just hope she's not too mad that I didn't make it today." Kise muttered more to himself than Yuri.

"Kise-kun, why do you worry about that girl? I know she's your kohai but you seem to care for her as more than just a senpai." Despite her best efforts, Kise still thought a lot about Mira. What was so special about the girl that she was constantly on Kise's mind? If Yuri knew what kind of spell Mira had on Kise, then maybe she could reverse its effects.

"Mira is special. She's unlike anyone I've ever known. Besides, I've spent half a year worrying for her. It'd be weird to stop now." Kise chuckled heartily. Smiling as memories played across his mind.

Yuri bit her lip as she fell behind Kise a few steps. No matter what she did, neither was willing to give up on the other. Sure, Kise was willing to spend time with Yuri during school and Mira had accepted that. Honestly, Yuri had been hoping Mira would show her true colors and snap at Yuri to show Kise just what kind of person the red head really was. The girl must have the patience of a saint. There were times Yuri had purposely timed things to interrupt the two getting together. Mira had paid it no mind and had always gone off with her other friends. Because the one place Yuri couldn't touch them was on the court. That was when the bond was rebuilt. That was when the two were free to interact however they chose. In order to break the hold Mira had on Kise completely, Yuri would have to move in on dangerous ground.

"Say Kise-kun, what would it take to become a manager of the basketball team?" Yuri posed the question innocently enough. The wheels in her head were already turning quickly.

_._._

There was still a good while till the start of the Winter Cup. For those in Tokyo, and close to it, a pickup game had been organized one night. Naturally all of Mira's friends had wanted to get in on the fun. Aomine, Sakurai, and Momoi had all decided to join in as well. Takao and Midorima, much to everyone's surprise, had also agreed to come out and play. But everyone knew that Midorima just wanted a chance to play against Mira since he was the only one, asides from Murisakibara, from the Generation of Miracles who hadn't gotten to face her.

"Yo!" Kise waved to the group with none other but Yuri tagging along with him.

'You've got to be fucking kidding me…' Mira's eyebrow ticked in annoyance. By now she wasn't even trying to hide her disgust with the clingy girl.

"It is odd that Takeshita-chan is here now. Maybe the two had a job together?" Kanika suggested. She'd been willing to give Yuri the benefit of the doubt in the beginning, but now even Kanika was wary of the older girl.

"Oi, who's the new chick with Kise?" Aomine piped up. Cue Kanika's squeak of surprise.

"This is Takeshita-chan. She's here to talk to Ichinose-chan while we play." Kise tossed his bag on the ground. Already eager to get things started.

"Not bad. Kanika only blushed. I take it you two have gotten more used to each other?" Mira teased, causing Aomine to blush this time. "What exactly happened while I was gone during the summer?"

"They have been texting a lot more lately!" Momoi piped up. Aomine shot a glare at the pinkette who ran to hide behind Kuroko.

"Are we going to play or not?" Midorima in his usual fashion fixed his glasses, glancing to Mira.

"Yeah, one second. Takao ball please." A more than willing Takao tossed the ball to Mira. The red head turned and chunked it as hard as she could at Kise's head. The blond nearly bit his tongue from the force of the ball hitting him.

"Ow! Mira what was that for?" Kise whined, rubbing the tender spot.

"If you plan on playing then get your ass over here and come draw. Otherwise get off the court." Mira snapped in her usual fashion. Not missing a beat, Kise scooped up the ball and headed over so that they could all draw lots for teams.

Unfortunately for Midorima, he was on Mira's team along with Kise. They were currently against Kagami, Aomine and Chance. Just like that all of Mira's irritation from the week was gone. She fell back into old habits as she led her team beautifully against their opponents. What they lacked in power, they made up for with speed. Moving the ball around quick enough so that steals weren't so easy to make. Mira took on Aomine since she was the only one who could match Aomine move for move without over exerting herself. Kise stuck with Kagami, leaving them to fight it out underneath the goal for the rebounds. This left Midorima and Chance to battle outside the three point line with each other. It was an interesting game to say the least. For those watching, it was a treat to watch Mira and Aomine trade move for move on the court. Every now and then Mira would swap to her left in order to trip up Aomine. Kagami and Kise's play was a bit more conventional but just as fast paced. Leaving it more as a dunk war than anything else. As for the outside shooters? They needed to rely on their teammates heavily to shake each other long enough to get a shot off.

Yuri watched with a slack jawed expression. How someone of Mira's size was able to hold a candle to the guys on the court was amazing. She'd never really paid attention to the red head whenever she stepped on the court until today. Yuri couldn't believe how talented Mira was. For a pickup team, Mira was able to lead hers remarkably well. There was no hesitation from any of the guys whenever she initiated a play. There was no fear in Mira's eyes whenever she ended up in a one on one against one of the bigger guys. She attacked just a fiercely as any of the guys and wasn't afraid of getting hurt in the middle of a jump ball or during a rebound. Everything about Mira screamed pure joy as she played.

"How…How can she play so confidently with them? Isn't she afraid of getting hurt?" Yuri asked Momoi and Kanika who'd been taking data on the game.

"Mira is passionate about basketball. So much so that we were drawn to her. That girl has never once believed there wasn't something she couldn't do on the court. Compared to someone who has nothing to drive them, she'll never lose." Jason answered for her. His pale eyes piercing the silver haired girl to her core.

It was time to swap teams. They took a five minute break before Jason's team of Chase and Kuroko took on the winners. One of the losers filled in with Takao and Sakurai while waiting for their turn to play. This is how majority of the night was played out until they were all tired out. Kanika had prepared snacks for everyone while Momoi passed out what was left of their drinks. The mood was a cheerful and relaxed. Just what they needed before they would all become enemies at the Winter Cup. All except one that is.

'No! No! No! I can't let this happen!' Yuri worriedly bit her nail while watching Kise and Mira. The two were sitting near each other laughing up a storm about something till Jason intervened in his normal way.

"Absolutely not. Last time you took off alone to buy things you swindled a group of guys and would've been in trouble had your soon to be man not stepped in." Mira piped up, drawing Yuri's attention to them.

Kanika's face was fire engine red, causing a few people to laugh since Aomine hadn't tried to deny Mira's words. It seems the drinks had run low and Mira had volunteered to go get some at the nearby convenience store. Mira was taking down orders as Kise was pushing himself up to go help the girl with her trek. Yuri saw the way he looked at the younger girl. He was falling deeper under her spell. She had to act now.

"West-chan! I'll go with you!" Yuri volunteered. "Let the guys go ahead and start the next match. You look like you could use a break."

Most of the guys agreed with her, but those close to Mira could see that she wasn't too thrilled about this idea. The Americans looked to Jason who was debating on whether he should tag along or not. He just knew something was going to happen between the two. If he was honest, he was more worried about the silver haired girl than Mira. He knew that the red head was close to her boiling point with the doll faced beauty. Mira herself took a calming breath before flashing Yuri a mock smile and motioning for her to join. The older girl scrambled to catch up to Mira as the two headed out of the park and down the street.

The two walked in silence for a time. Mira didn't spare a glance to the clearly nervous Yuri. She knew the reason Yuri had volunteered to go with her. One: to stop Kise from joining her since he'd been ready to tag along like he always did. Two: the girl had something to say. And Mira was pretty sure she wasn't going to like what she was going to hear. But if it helped to clear the air between the two she was all for it. Then things could finally return to normal.

"I know what you're doing." Yuri finally piped up.

"Sure waited long enough to speak up." Mira smarted off in her normal fashion. She turned to face Yuri who was giving off a poor intimidating air. "Tell me, what is it you think I'm doing?"

"I can see how your friend Yamato-san acts around you. I saw it again with the others in your group. I won't let you do it to Kise-kun. He's a good person. You can't corrupt him!" Yuri waved her hand through the air with a confused Mira trying to interrupt what she was saying.

"What in the world are you talking about? I'm not corrupting any-"

"Yes you are!" Yuri yelled, silencing Mira's protests. "I'm not stupid! I see how your friend treats you! He looks at you as if he worships the ground you walk on. So do the others."

"Jason….well, that's how he's been since we've been friends. And it may seem like that with the others, but that's only their way of trying to make things right after what happened. Look, I know Kise is helping you like he did with me. If we talk, maybe I can help you too?" Mira suggested, trying to clear up whatever misconception Yuri had about her.

"Why would I want help from someone like ' **him** '." Yuri hissed. She narrowed her eyes at Mira and took a step towards the shorter girl. "You're just like him. You're manipulating those around you to better yourself. Once you're done with them you'll toss them aside as if they mean nothing to you. How many more to you plan on stepping on till you're satisfied? How many have you destroyed because of your lies?"

"Watch what you say next. You're treading thin ice." Mira's voice grew low as her hands curled into fists. She'd had enough of Yuri's accusations and was getting angrier with each passing moment with the direction that the conversation was going in.

"I won't let you do to Kise what you've done to others. I won't let you use, abuse, and destroy someone pure like him. I'll save him from a monster like you." Yuri proudly declared.

"I think I get what happened to you now." Mira said softly as she let her body relax. "However…."

Before Yuri could blink, she'd been slammed into the wall behind her. The girl felt the air get knocked out of her as something gripped her collar tightly. Yuri opened her eyes to see Mira glaring up at her. The older girl felt frozen to the spot as fear entered her body. Yuri couldn't move, she couldn't speak, she could barely remind herself to breathe as she stared down at the pissed off red head.

"You don't know what real monsters are. They are the ones who you least expect. They are the ones who do so well at blending in with those around. They are the ones who enjoy causing suffering and misery to those they can't keep under their thumb. They will do anything to make sure that they break you and force you under their will. And they'll smile with pleasure while doing it. But you're partially right about me….I'm no monster. I'm a demon." Mira smirked, releasing Yuri as the girl sank down to the ground. Her smirk soon disappeared though as Mira squatted down in front of the girl, barely containing herself from hitting the scared doll before her for the insult she'd delivered. "However, those you claim that I'm manipulating…those are my friends. They stick with me of their own accord. I have never done anything to force them under my thumb. I will never force someone under my will like I was. I'd rather die first."

With that, Mira pushed herself up and left Yuri sitting there. It didn't escape Yuri's notice that Mira didn't head back for the courts. Not like it mattered. The girl was petrified. Mira pulled her phone out and sent a quick text to Jason before walking off. She didn't want to be around anyone or anything at the moment. Not with her anger like it was. Not with memories from the past coming forth to haunt her. She took a deep breath before pushing forward. It wouldn't be long before the others came for her. Till then, she just wanted to wander around to blow off steam.

_._._

"Ow…" Yuri winced in pain as Kanika tended to her wounds. When Mira had slammed her into the wall, she'd cut her head.

The whole room remained silent, recalling what had led up to this. They'd all been playing another round waiting for the girls to come back when Jason's phone had gone off. The minute he'd checked it his eyes had gone wide. He'd called for the other Americans to grab their gear and follow him. Before rushing off he'd relayed a quick message to the others, telling them what had happened and where they could find Yuri. After that the boys had split to go find their friend. Leaving the others to take care of Yuri who was still in shock.

"What did you do?" Aomine finally spoke up. Setting his gaze on Yuri who stiffened up upon hearing his accusatory tone.

"S-S-She attacked me." Yuri managed to stutter out. She was visibly shaking, recalling the look in Mira's eyes when she'd been pinned to the wall.

"I know. Why? What did you say to set her off?" Aomine growled.

"Aomine-kun." Kanika gently chastised, even though she wanted answers as badly as the rest of them.

"What? We all know that little shit doesn't attack anyone unprovoked. This girl's lucky her face isn't smashed in." Aomine scoffed before moving to sit as far away from Yuri as possible.

"Aominecchi does have a point Takeshita-chan. Mira doesn't attack anyone for just any reason. What happened while you two were gone?" Kise gently asked, kneeling in front of the girl.

"I…I was trying to save you from her. I can see what she's doing. She's using you and the others. I was afraid she was going to do to you like what happened to me. I told her I wouldn't let a monster like her destroy you." Yuri looked to Kise, hoping that he would see that she'd only been trying to help him.

Yuri's eyes widened when she saw the look on Kise's face. It was mirrored in everyone's features there. Yuri had dropped a verbal landmine. The girl looked around to everyone, hoping someone would speak. Midorima adjusted his glasses before shifting his gaze towards Yuri. Takao would beat him to the punch though.

"West-chan is the last person to try and manipulate anyone. She spent the better half of the year fighting against someone who'd done the same to her." Takao narrowed his eyes in annoyance at the girl before him.

"Did it ever occur to you that we enjoy her company because we respect the girl? If she was just any other female there would be no way I'd approve of her." Midorima announced. This had to be the biggest shocker yet as jaws dropped all around. "What?"

"Mira fought hard to get to where she is. She struggled to regain what she lost. She faced her own personal demon and beat him. And I'll be damned if someone like you comes in and ruins it." Kagami growled. Yuri ducked her head in shame. She was public enemy number one at the moment.

"Guys, I'll take her from here. She's my responsibility. I'll figure out a way to clean up this mess somehow." Kise sighed.

He placed a hand on Yuri's back and helped to guide her out of Kagami's apartment. The two headed for the nearest train station and headed back. Yuri spared glances towards Kise who kept his gaze on his phone. Upon finding what he was looking for, he handed his phone to Yuri. The girl wondered what she was supposed to see as she looked down at the screen. On it was a young man with clean cut pale blond hair, dazzling emerald green eyes, with perfect posture. The image of a well groomed youth. The only thing marring him was a scar running down his face over one of his eyes.

"Who is this?" Yuri asked Kise, handing his phone back to him.

"His name is Alexander. He and Mira used to be friends. Mira would've done anything for him at one point. That's just the person she is. Alexander tried to force his will upon Mira. When she wouldn't comply, he injured her and almost forced her to quit the sport she loves. He also spread lies to her friends, making them believe Mira had turned on them. On top of this, Mira had been forced from her home by her parents and was relocated to Japan. When Alexander learned that Mira was rebuilding her life without him he came halfway across the world to put a stop to it. He even brought her friends and threatened her with them. Mira fought against him and won. She won freedom not only for herself but for those she cares about. The same friends you accused her of using and stripping of their free will." Kise said softly. His eyes were hard when he turned to look at Yuri.

"Oh no….that's why she…." Yuri whispered. How Mira had reacted made sense now. The attack had been justified. Yuri was the one in the wrong. Oh how horribly wrong she was.

"What made you think she was this twisted person you accused her of being?" Kise questioned. He watched Yuri cover her mouth in horror, shaking her head side to side as she couldn't believe what she'd done.

"I…I saw myself in her friends. I saw all the same things I'd done in their actions. In your actions. I just feared the worst….what have I done?" Yuri whimpered. Only now did she realize just how badly she'd screwed up and the damage she'd done.

"I suggest you start talking now. It's time you finally tell me what happened at your old school." Kise demanded. The time for babying was done. He needed answers now.

* * *

And we have some controversy! Yuri won't necessarily be a love rival per say, but she will be one of the main sources of conflict for the story. Also for those worried about Mira turning into some shoujo type girl, fear not. Just because Mira is recognizing her feminine side doesn't mean she's going to get all gaga over a boy. That's all I'll say for now!


	4. Ch 4 Mending

So far so good I'm managing to stick with the update schedule (sort of). Anyways little bit of down time in this one but I won't ruin it too much for you guys. Enjoy!

~*Mending*~

"Does anyone one else find it ironic that we're training together with the same team that knocked us out of the Inter-High?" Hayawaka muttered with the rest of the team nodding in agreement.

"Actually, I'm more worried about our two star players." Nakamura said more to himself, sparing a glance to the two players in question.

Said two were currently avoiding each other. Correction—Mira was avoiding Kise. The girl had barely looked at the boy that morning when they'd gathered near the bus. Mira had made it a point to be known that she didn't want anything to do with Kise. She was pissed. Majorly. The other Kaijo boys vaguely wondered what had happened between the two. Not that any of them were brave enough to ask Mira. And with Kise looking like a puppy that had just been kicked, no one had the heart to make the guy feel any worse than he normally did. They just hoped the two could get over it soon.

"Thank you for the invitation to join you. I must say it is quite the coincidence that we both chose this location to train at during this time. I hope we don't interfere in any way." Takeuchi shook hands with his old friend whose hard mask seemed to crack for the first time.

"Don't worry. The point of a joint training camp is to train together. Besides, it was Akashi's idea in the first place. Seems he and a few of my others have taken a shine to your point guard. I'm eager to get a look at her myself." Shirogane shifted his gaze towards Mira who was already blending in with Akashi and Kotaro. Reo and Nebuya greeted the girl, also looking forward to this joint venture.

The Kaijo boys wondered just how Mira was able to just jump in with the Rakuzan team without feeling intimidated. Already chatting up a storm with Kotaro who was asking for a one on one later. Mira happily agreed as they all headed inside the inn they'd be staying at. It didn't escape Akashi's notice that Mira was putting distance between her and Kise. She didn't even bother to spare a look back at him to see if he was coming or not.

"What happened?" Akashi asked Kanika, scaring the poor girl and giving her a nose bleed. Something that hadn't happened in a long time.

"Sorry." Kanika sniffled from a safe distance away. Even if Akashi wasn't trying to be, he was intimidating to be near. "Mira is still upset about an incident from the other night and Kise-senpai blames himself for it. I don't think Mira blames him for what happened, but she holds him responsible in some fashion. She's only looked at him once since the team met up this morning." The poor girl had to shove Kleenex up her nose to stop the stress bleeding.

Akashi merely nodded, letting the subject drop. The players all got settled in and changed. They only had three days to cram in as much as possible. They didn't have the luxury of sitting around doing nothing. First up on the menu was beach training. The weather was still nice enough to allow them to get some reps done on the beach. Once everyone was changed they headed down to the beach front dressed in practice gear, ready for instructions.

"For the first two days you'll pair off with the one who plays your position. They will be your training partner and the one to push you till the final day when we have a team match up. Help each other, guide each other, and cooperate to reach your goals." Shirogane called out to everyone.

"Mira?" Akashi joined the girl near the front of the group. Her eyes were still hard and she was refusing to look back at Kotaro who was currently harassing Kise.

"Wait till we're far enough away from the main group." Mira took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching her firsts to stay calm.

"Understood." Akashi let the subject drop.

The teams lined up as the first exercise began. A beach run. The full length up and back once. They'd all been allowed to run barefoot for it, but that didn't make things any easier. It didn't take long for Mira and Akashi to pull away from the pack. As promised, Mira spilled her guts. Unlike the others Mira had come to know, Akashi was one whom she couldn't remain silent around. He'd played almost as big a part as Kise had in helping her to regain her old self. He'd trained with her when he'd barely known her. He'd taken her abuse when Mira had learned her Demon Zone. He'd abided by her wishes during the final battle between her and Alexander. Mira owed Akashi a lot. To her, he was like a brother. A strong comforting presence that she could count on. One that she couldn't hide anything from either.

"I see." Akashi said softly to himself as they hit one end of the public marked beach and headed back towards the other end. "I can understand why you are so angered. But your anger is also displaced."

"I know. But when I look at him all I can see is how he protected someone like her. From day one she's been trying to drive a wedge between us. All because some bitch was too scared to find out what was really going on and projected her fears on to me. This is precisely why I don't get along with most females." Mira gritted her teeth in annoyance over the whole thing.

"You aren't exactly the easiest person to approach." Akashi chuckled lightly.

"Says the pot calling the kettle black." The girl muttered under her breath.

"All I'm saying is it's Ryota's nature. He has two older sisters so he understands how to treat and comfort most girls. Why do you think he knows how to turn down his fans so gently?" Akashi pointed out, watching as Mira glanced up at nothing in particular while in thought.

"Honestly, I've stopped paying attention to his fans since I finally managed to get them to be quiet at practice." Mira blinked a few times in an oblivious manner that caused Akashi to snicker softly.

"You know what you have to do." Akashi pointed out with a smile on his face.

"I know. But I just need to be mad for a little while. My anger needs to run its course before I can approach him." She admitted as they hit the other end finally.

"Very well. Shall we put that energy to good use then?" Akashi challenged, picking up the pace.

"I was wondering when we were gonna start getting serious." Mira smirked as she easily kept up with him.

"How can those two still have energy to spare?" Kanika whispered, ready to drop her clipboard in shock. Compared to the others who were still lagging a bit it almost seemed like the two point guards were racing each other.

After the run on the beach they moved back inside. They hit the gym next before finally moving on to the court. As instructed, the pairs stuck together while running drills on the court. By now their teams were pretty much hating their point guards who seemed to be breezing through the menu relatively easy. Mira showed once again the work she put in to make sure she stood on par with the guys. While she wasn't anywhere close to being as physically strong as Akashi, her skills and speed made up the difference in a lot of ways. And unlike when she'd first come to Kaijo, Mira was smiling. Mira was laughing. Mira was enjoying her time on the court.

"She's changed so much." Kise said softly as he watched Mira and Akashi take a short water break.

"West-chan? She does seem a lot happier than in the past." Kotaro noted, turning to watch the two now. "Her and Akashi get along really well too."

"That's because Sei-chan see's her like a sister. And I'd be willing to bet West-chan sees him as a sibling as well." Reo smiled tenderly, watching the two point guards go back and forth before setting up for a one on one.

"Anyone that can earn Akashi's respect is okay in my book." Nebuya belched loudly. Those around the boy flinched both from disgust and surprise.

"Think Akashi would be okay if I asked West-chan out?" Kise nearly choked on his water upon hearing Kotaro's sudden question.

'Great. That's another one I have to worry about.' Kise thought to himself. He shifted his attention to where Mira and Akashi were currently playing.

Kise couldn't blame Kotaro for being attracted to the red head though. With her skills she could easily draw in any player worth their salt. Her honest to a fault personality helped to weed out the weak, leaving only those that were serious behind. The question on everyone's minds though…what kind of guy exactly was Mira attracted to? She didn't really show an interest in anyone around her. Even Kise knew she had her pick of the litter should she want. But the girl seemed to only be focused on basketball.

'I wonder if she sees me like that? Not like this recent mess helped any.' Kise admitted to himself.

Even if he wasn't directly at fault for Mira's anger, he had played a small part. He hadn't listened. He didn't heed Mira's warning. It's not like Mira went out of her way to chase the girls away from Kise. She scared his fans into silence sure, but she didn't ban them from the courts. And anytime they'd hung out after practice and a girl came up to talk to him, Mira had always waited patiently for him to get done before they headed off. Despite her threatening to leave him alone in the streets. The fact that Mira had been wary of a girl should've said a lot to Kise.

'I need to apologize.' Kise thought to himself, unaware of the smile he was wearing while watching Mira be her true self out on the court.

_._._

It was the second night of the training camp. After another arduous day, a good long soak in the bath, and some encouraging from Akashi and Kanika, Mira was finally ready to speak to Kise. She took a deep breath before glancing back to Kanika. The mousy girl sent the text and gave Mira a thumbs up for luck before leaving the area. Mira stood out near the beach, enjoying the nice ocean breeze blowing in the air. For once she wasn't dressed in basketball gear. She'd opted for short cotton shorts and a muscle shirt with a light jacket. She'd decided to leave her hair down for the meeting. For once, she was actually trying to look soft and feminine.

"Huh? Mira?" She turned slightly upon hearing Kise call out to her. "I thought Ichinose-chan wanted to talk."

"I asked Kanika to txt you for me. I didn't want you to feel pressured to come speak to me if I'd contacted you." Mira smiled softly, motioning with her head for Kise to join her.

"Mira I—" She pressed a finger to Kise's lips to silence him.

"You have nothing to apologize for. It was me this time. I took my anger out on you when you had nothing to do with the reason that I was pissed off in the first place. Yeah, I was irritated that you were blowing me off but not enough that I should've acted like I did. I just used you as a proxy for that girl. I'm sorry Kise. For being mad, for ignoring, for acting like a total jackass lately." Mira removed her finger and allowed her hands to fall to her sides. "Still friends?"

"Of course!" Kise reached out and pulled the girl to him. Wrapping her in a tight hug in case she changed her mind and decided to bolt. "Mira I'm sorry. I should've listened to you when you voiced your concerns. I ignored it and I ignored you."

"It's okay. I'm just glad to have you back Kise." Mira smiled to herself, keeping her head down so that Kise couldn't see just how happy she was.

"You never lost me in the first place." He said softly, resting his chin on her head as the two just stood there.

Both knew words would only complicate the situation at hand. They would both grow self-conscious and want to separate in order to save face. But neither was willing to give up the warmth they were enjoying. Mira reached up and gently held on to the back of Kise's shirt. Somehow Kise had gone from annoying friend, to someone she physically wanted to be around. Someone that she looked forward to seeing. Someone she felt like she could be her real self around. Someone she didn't want to lose. Mira couldn't help but wonder if Kise felt the same for her. She'd never have the guts to ask him. When it came to feelings, it was about the only girly thing about Mira. She refused to be the first one to ask or say anything to the other party. She was perfectly comfortable sitting back and letting things play out. Last time she'd confessed it hadn't exactly gone well. It was that fear that kept her from speaking up now when she so desperately wanted to know how Kise felt.

'For now. This is enough. Maybe one day I can tell him…." Mira thought to herself as she snuggled into his chest, feeling Kise's arms tighten around her waist in response.

The next day…

Unbeknownst to anyone, the camp continued as normally as possible. They ran through the drills per usual as the hours ticked by until the team competition. Kaijo glanced over to Mira who was having a conversation with Akashi before jogging back to her team. Mira spared one last look over her shoulder before heaving a sigh and scratching her head.

"I'm not gonna lie. It's gonna be a tough game. But this is where we see if the training we've put in with them paid off any. I'm not Akashi. I can't pull you all into Zone like he can with his team. But I'm not going to just roll over and die, even if they blow us out of the water. I owe you guys more than that." Mira gave the guys a bonified smile as they all shared a look between each other.

"West-chan? Are you okay?" Nakamura asked since no one else was willing to speak.

"You seem chippier than usual." Hayawaka noted with a hard nod. "Is it because you and Kise made up?"

"No. Well, we did but…even I've never seen her like this before a game." Kise said softly, amazed at how bright Mira seemed then.

"Maybe it's because you're seeing the real me." Mira laughed softly as she lowered her gaze. "During the summer, my old teammates reminded me that there was no reason for me to be afraid anymore. I have no reason to not trust you guys like I did when I first got here. They told me to stop holding back. And it's exactly what I plan on doing."

There was a light in Mira's eyes that hadn't been there before. Normally she was extremely serious with a touch of humor before a match. Today she looked overjoyed. As if a weight was off her shoulders. Kise's eyes widened as he realized what it was. She was finally showing them the real Mira. The one Kise had only caught glimpses of in the past. The one that she'd been struggling to be again after her trust had been shattered to a million pieces. The fact that Mira had come to apologize to Kise should've told him something was different. Now he knew what. Mira was whole again.

The two teams set up for the jump ball as Mira went through her normal ritual. She adjusted her shooting sleeves before taking her calming breath and turning her mind off. From across the way Kotaro's eyes lit up upon seeing that look in Mira's eyes. The same look Akashi had been hoping for as well. They were in for a good match today. The ball was tossed up and Nebuya won the jump. He pulled the ball down and looked to Akashi first. Surprise coated his face when he saw Akashi shake his head. He was saying no to starting things off. Nebuya turned to Kotaro and dumped the ball off to him before taking his spot underneath the basket as the game began.

Playing against Rakuzan was no easy feat. Even without the makeshift shadow, the Uncrowned Kings and Akashi gave them a run for their money with the new player fitting in seamlessly. Mira did her best to keep Akashi's play to a minimum as Kise tried his best to help out underneath. But for every basket Kaijo scored, Rakuzan easily scored two or three in turn. They weren't known as Emperor's for no reason. The score was a testament to that as the gap only continued to grow. Even knowing this, Mira kept up her job. She forced Akashi to play a bit more conservatory. Mira was a tough opponent for Akashi. Her adaptability allowed her to play Akashi on equal footing. He knew the only way his special skills would be effective against the red head is if he entered Zone. But should he do that, he would drain himself far before the game could conclude. He wouldn't be able to pull his teammates into Zone if his own energy was depleted from the start. And after seeing how hard Mira had fought against Alexander, Akashi knew how tenacious the girl could be. It may only be a practice match but Mira never slacked off on anything.

'Huh?' Akashi could feel a shift in the aura on the court.

He couldn't believe what he saw from a top the key. Despite their exhaustion, despite the widening score gap, despite being outclassed, the Kaijo boys all stood at the ready. They all appeared as if they had their second wind and were ready to charge into battle once more. All their eyes focused on top where Akashi stood with the ball, ready to move whenever the ball did. But it wasn't Akashi they were watching. It was Mira.

'Could it be?' Akashi wondered as he decided to put his theory to the test.

He passed the ball to Reo who wasted no time in taking the shot, believing that his man was guarding him much to loosely. Akashi's fears were confirmed as Nakamura jumped to try and block Reo. His finger managed to touch the ball and throw off the shot. Ignoring Akashi, Mira darted underneath and used her speed to allow her to box out an off guard Kotaro. Kise and Hayawaka double teamed Nebuya to keep him out of the fray as Manami (a second year who was almost as tall a Kobori) jumped to get the rebound. He turned and chunked the ball down the court as Mira blazed by Akashi. The point guard rushed after his man, wondering when Mira had gotten so fast. He managed to stop her drive as Mira pulled out her street skills and pulled Akashi into a one on one. Mira rolled to the left, came back right, crossed between her legs, made a drive to her right, only to pull into a jump shot. Akashi timed his jump right but had forgotten about Mira's sneaky ability. She passed the ball behind her back and threw the ball to the basket with her left hand. It rimmed off and appeared as if it was going to fall out. A slight smirk appeared on Mira's face as Kise flew by and forced the ball into the basket. Akashi looked from where Kise stood to Mira and then the Kaijo boys standing behind her on the other end of the court.

'This is going to get immensely harder.' Akashi thought to himself. Already excited by the thought of what was to come in the next two quarters.

_._._

"Damnit!" Hayawaka howled.

The final score had been 115-92. While it was still a win for Rakuzan, it was a much closer game than the last time they'd face at Inter-High. One, because they had Mira back and it seemed she was pretty good at keeping Akashi at bay until he'd pulled his whole team into Zone. Two, Mira had a new ability. One that the Kaijo boys weren't even aware that she'd used on them.

"That was a good match." Reo smiled, offering a hand to Hayawaka.

"It shows we're getting stronger. Thank you for your help these last few days." Nakamura bowed slightly to the Rakuzan players.

"It was fun. And we got to see something interesting as well." Nebuya chuckled. He glanced to Mira who had to crane her neck in order to look up at the boy.

"See! I told you it was different playing her than just watching!" Kotaro yelled happily. He was about to reach out to hug Mira, only to have Kise pull a Jason. He pulled Mira towards him and shot Kotaro a look that dared him to try and take Mira away.

"With a little more work, that ability of yours might just push your team to new heights." Akashi said cryptically.

"Akashicchi?" Kise questioned, wanting his friend to clear things up for him.

"It's similar to how I can pull my team into Zone with me. While I bring out the best in my teammates, Mira inspires hers to push past their limits and keep fighting. Almost as if she's giving some of her energy to you all." Akashi clarified.

"Hmm…Well, it's true that I when I saw how hard West-chan was fighting against you that I didn't want to leave all the work to her." Hayawaka nodded in acknowledgement.

"It did seem as if we got our second wind in roughly the second quarter." Nakamura noted while fixing his glasses.

"That's because you have a leader who doesn't just lead. She fights alongside with you. You all unconsciously sensed her fighting spirit. You could see she was willing to put it all on the line for her team. So you naturally responded in time with your own strong wills. Your bodies just couldn't handle the continued strain of going past your limits. She has what's known as Alpha Sense. Mira is a natural born leader." Akashi chuckled. Once again, Mira amazed him.

"Did you know about this?" Kise asked, looking down at the girl still trapped in his arms.

"Kinda….the guys always told me that they played harder whenever I was point guard. This was the first game that I was able to fully put my trust in you guys and play like I used to in the states." Mira admitted softly, looking around to her teammates with a somber but happy look in her eyes.

"Well, looks like we're going to have to get stronger. We can't let our point guard take all the responsibility anymore, can we?" Nakamura smiled with the others agreeing.

"By the way Kise…...why didn't you use your Perfect Copy!" Mira snapped. She elbowed Kise hard before knocking his feet out from underneath him.

"Mir~a!" Kise whined as the abuse continued. The Rakuzan boys looked to Kaijo who waved away their concerns.

'It would seem those two made up.' Akashi smiled, watching the two like a proud older brother. He was glad to see them both back to their usual selves. He was eager to see just how much they would grow between now and the Winter Cup. It would be interesting to say the least.

* * *

I had fun with this one. Even back in Fresh Start I always saw Akashi taking on a brotherly role with Mira. You could say their bond developed after Akashi helped Mira to train to kick Alexander's ass. That, and he's probably the only one Mira will listen to seriously without bad mouthing them.

We got to see a new skill develop as well! Our favorite red head isn't growing only in life but basketball as well! Or I guess you could say this is a talent she used to have and is just now bringing back. Either way I hope you all enjoyed and can't wait to hear from ya!


	5. Ch 5 Study Group

Sorry I'm a little late in updating I know! Got swamped with three quizzes, two projects, as well as a midterm all at once so the last couple of weeks have been hectic. I managed to get a bit of a break recently so if all goes well I may even have a two for one upload hopefully within this period. Anyhow I won't ramble too long just enjoy this nice little chapter!

~*Study Group*~

Kanika swallowed hard as she stood outside the door to Mira's apartment. She could hear voices inside, some increasing in volume every so often. This would be her biggest challenge yet. She'd been making good progress so far, so what was one more obstacle? The poor girl swallowed hard before pressing the doorbell. Kanika did her best to steel her nerves as footsteps could be heard drawing near. The door opened just enough to allow Kanika to hear the noise volume increase dramatically before a loud smack could be heard.

"Ichinose-chan? You're here for the study group too?" Kuroko asked with his usual blank stare.

"Yes." Kanika managed not to stutter with a light flush crossing her face.

Kuroko stepped aside to allow Kanika in. He closed the door behind the two as Kanika couldn't believe the sight before her. Chance and Chase were both holding on to Mira's ankles, whining about something. Sitting nearby was Kise who was holding his head, also whining up a storm. Malacai had a look of annoyance on his face, his glasses hanging low on the bridge of his nose. Jason was sitting back and enjoying the whole scene with a very pleased grin on his face.

"I suggest you three knock your shit off and get back to studying." Mira rubbed her temples in frustration as a headache tried to form.

"Looks like you have your hands full." Kanika giggled softly, making her way over to her friend.

"You could say that. It's always been like this though. The only difference is that another couple idiots were added to the mix." Mira motioned to Kise and then her cousin. Both with a look of annoyance on their faces. "You can be pissed all you want but your scores prove me right! Basketball idiots."

"Are you sure you'll be able to help me? I don't want to add to your stress." Kanika held her books tightly. She herself needed help with her studies, but Kanika could see that Mira had her hands full already.

"You won't. Malacai will help you. I lost at rock, paper, scissors so I'm stuck wrangling the idiots tonight." Mira motioned to the dark skinned boy sitting away from the chaos on the other side of the table. "Don't worry, he won't bite."

Kanika glanced over to where Malacai was. He had his own books scattered about with most of the review sheets nearby. He gave her a warm smile, his hazel eyes seeming to light up, as he scooted over to make room between him and Jason.

"Please take care of me." Kanika said softly before kneeling between the two.

"I know you aren't too fond of sitting between us, but trust me this is a safe zone. More than likely those four are going to push Mira over the edge tonight and it won't be long till she starts throwing things." Jason yawned while twirling his pencil.

"So, where were we?" Kuroko asked, scaring the three who hadn't heard him join the circle.

"You think I'd be used to that by now." Malacai held his heart beating heart, shooting a look at Kuroko before turning back to the lesson at hand.

Kanika pulled her own books out and jumped in on the subject Malacai was currently working on. She was surprised to find that he was a good teacher. Even Jason would jump in and help clarify things that left Kanika stumped. For once she felt like she was getting things when it came to her studying. Which, unfortunately, only happened with Mira around. Kanika heaved a sigh during a small break as she thought back to the last time she tried to study with a group. It had been with Aomine and Momoi.

Momoi had invited Kanika to study with them at a burger joint one evening. At first Kanika had been ecstatic at the chance to just see Aomine, let alone trying to study with him. The girl had always fantasized about having a study date with her boyfriend. Not that Aomine was her boyfriend…but the girl could hope. They had been talking more lately so it had been a good sign. But majority of the time they were supposed to use for studying had been spent trying to motivate Aomine. It had been totally hopeless and Aomine had abandoned the movement halfway through to go play basketball at a nearby court by himself. Kanika had to pull an emergency cram session early the next morning with Mira so that she didn't bomb her test.

"I just wish he was more motivated…." Kanika sighed softly.

"Aomine-kun?" Kuroko guessed. He handed Kanika a drink and a small plate with a couple sandwiches and some chips on it.

"Yes. I know he has greatness in him, and not just when it comes to basketball. He just seems so apathetic about school though. About everything that doesn't concern basketball. I don't know what to do." She nibbled on her sandwich lightly, her thoughts plagued with the absent bluenette.

"That's the one thing the states had right." Malacai piped up, pulling his glasses off to clean them. "If we wanted to play sports we had to keep at least a 2.5 GPA. Our drill sergeant over there though made us keep it at a 3.0 otherwise she refused to acknowledge us on the court." He chuckled as he held his glasses up to the light to check them. "Sometimes you just need the right motivation."

"Hmm, if the guy's anything like I think he is….Hey Mira!" Jason called out from where the girl was munching away on her own snack. "Can we borrow those two?"

"Depends on what you're using them for." Mira finished of her sandwich, glancing at said twins who looked up from their workbooks with hope in their eyes.

"We're gonna help Kanika get her boyfriend motivated to study with her." Kanika stiffened up when she felt Jason's hands on her shoulders. For some reason, she didn't like where this was going.

"Let it be known now I'm not responsible for any bodily harm that may be incurred. Go." Mira motioned to her prisoners who willingly took off.

"Mira, you better not get our place trashed because of this." Kagami muttered, already not liking where this was gonna go.

"I wonder how long it'll take Aominecch to get here?" Kise pondered briefly.

"If he gets here before you finish your math then you're in trouble." Mira cracked her knuckles threateningly, motivating both boys to get back to work.

_._._

Aomine and Momoi had just left a diner after getting something light to eat. It was still early in the night, but the pinkette knew that the only thing Aomine wanted to do was either ogle girls or look at his porn magazines. Disgusting, but not out of the normal for a hormonal teenage boy. Momoi shook her head, wishing her friend would get more serious about things. She had hoped Kanika would be able to help her in this venture, but the girl was still a tad shy around Aomine and couldn't quite wrangle him like Momoi had hoped. Thankfully there were plenty of sneaks within their circle of friends to help the two along.

"Oh?" Momoi opened her phone to see a picture message from Kise on it. Without having to read the message that came afterwards, she already knew what Kise had in mind. "Dai-chan look! Ki-chan sent us a picture!"

"Don't care. I just wanna go home." Aomine yawned dramatically. He wasn't in the mood for Momoi's antics today.

"Looks like he's studying with West-chan and Ichinose-chan." Momoi grinned. Aomine tensed up slightly upon hearing that name. The boy wouldn't admit it out loud but he was rather fond of the raven haired first year. Things were always interesting whenever she was around. "Oh? Looks like Tetsu-kun is there too."

Momoi held the phone out for Aomine to see. His face went from shock to anger almost immediately. Sitting between the twins, unaware of the danger around her, was Kanika. She had a happy smile on her face while looking up at Malacai. But that wasn't what caused Aomine's anger to spike. The looks that Chance and Chase were giving Kanika had danger written all over it. How did Aomine know? It was a look he often wore quite a bit before meeting said girl.

"Satsuki, where are they?" Aomine growled, doing his best not to break the pink phone in hand.

"At Kagamin's." She exclaimed happily.

Aomine pulled out his money for the week and saw that he had just enough to pay for a cab to the place. He flagged one down and shoved Momoi inside before barking out the address. The entire ride over, his foot bounced nervously as he tapped his finger on his folded arms. Momoi was squealing internally with joy at the sight. That, and she would get to see her beloved Kuroko. It was a win, win situation for her. Aomine threw the money up front when the cab pulled to a stop and bolted out of there. Momoi jogged after the boy who was winded by the time he'd reached the eighth floor. The boy mashed the doorbell until someone finally got up to answer. He pushed past whoever had answered the door and stormed into the place. He was met with an arm to the gut, causing him to sink to the ground in pain.

"Pay up!" Kise called out to Kagami who stepped past Aomine who was recovering from the blow to his gut.

"Kagami….you asshole." Aomine growled once he could breathe again.

"Actually, that was me." Both Aomine and Momoi turned to see Mira smirking down at him. "And by the way, Kise your winnings go to me since you didn't finish your work before he got here."

"Mi~ra!" Kise whined before slumping over.

"See, I told you." Malacai nudged a blushing Kanika who was sneaking glances at Aomine. "All he needed was the right motivation."

"He speaks from experience. Anytime he tried to pull his shit, we would entice Malacai by saying we got a picture of Mira changing, in her sports bra, a swim suit, stuff like that. Came running with drool hanging from his mouth till Mira knocked him to the ground like your boy toy over on the ground." Chance snickered, ignoring the glare Malacai was shooting at him.

"Aomine," Mira snapped her fingers to draw his attention back to her, forcing him to look down. "just so you know, we're here to study. I suggest you behave and go with the flow."

"And if I don't?" Aomine leaned over to Mira's level as he narrowed his eyes. He liked Mira, but he didn't appreciate being told what to do. By anyone. Mira smirked, latching on to his shirt collar and pulling his ear to her mouth.

"Not only will I kick you out, I'll never have another street match with you. I do believe I hold a win over you don't I? You'd hate to leave our record like that now wouldn't you?" Aomine pulled back just enough to look Mira in the eyes. He could see that the girl was serious. While he wanted to just walk out to prove her wrong, anyone holding some kind of victory over him was annoying. He let out a sigh and nodded his head in agreement, showing that he'd behave. "Good. Besides, Kanika was the one who agreed to this charade. She worries for you I hope you know."

Mira released him and returned to her spot of the room, snatching the waiting money from Kise who was grumbling to himself as he did his work. The girl turned to the twins, narrowing her eyes at them in warning. They scurried away from Kanika and resumed their spot near Mira. Jason scratched his head before sacrificing his spot near Kanika. Aomine promptly filled the spot, going into full pout mode. Momoi sat down on the other side of Kuroko as Malacai shook his head before continuing with the lesson he'd been working on till Aomine had shown up.

Naturally Aomine was upset. He'd rather be doing anything than study. He barely put up with Momoi when she forced him to study. Yet here he was, in a study group when he could think of plenty of other things he could be doing with his time. He supposed it could be worse. Aomine briefly glanced over to the other group Mira was supervising with Jason's help now. The girl ruled with an iron fist over those guys. But it seemed like they were making some progress. Evident when Jason handed over a chocolate to whoever answered a question right.

"This is such a pain…." Aomine groaned, leaning his head back into the couch behind him.

"I don't know. I think studying with everyone is pretty fun." Kanika smiled brightly at him. "Treyvon-san is a great teacher."

"Aomine-kun, this would be a good chance to get some extra cramming in." Kuroko suggested. With his eyes though he motioned to a happy Kanika. Basically, Kuroko was telling Aomine to get his shit together because it's something Kanika enjoyed.

"Tch. Fine. What are we doing?" Aomine leaned forward and very grumpily stole a piece of paper and a pencil so that he could keep up.

Kanika's crystal eyes lit up like fireworks when she saw him trying to adamantly study. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she reached down and tightened her grip on her skirt in excitement. It was then something warm wrapped around her own hand. The girl froze up like a statue. She spared a glance down to see Aomine's free hand wrapped around her own. She looked over to Aomine to see him playing it off as if it was nothing. But she could've sworn she saw a slight twitch of his lips. Kanika did her best to pay attention to the lesson as the others at the table played ignorant to what was going on.

"Aw look at—" Kise was promptly shut up by Mira's hand slapping over his mouth.

"Say a word to ruin it and I'll personally use my demon mode against you next time we play against each other." Mira warned, her eyes narrowing in a dangerous manner.

"Don't trigger it!" Chase squealed in worry, shakily glancing to Mira who was dead serious about this.

"It's only gotten worse since we last saw it! She has control over it now!" Chance hissed.

"Really?" Kise looked up to Mira who'd finally released his mouth.

"Never know when it might come in handy." She scratched her head, her way of playing it off like it was no big deal.

"Abuse." The twins said at the same time. Mira let out a soft sigh before jumping the two. A short scuffle ensued before it was revealed Mira the victor sitting on top of the two mischief makers.

"Next time you mouth off I'll let Jason punish you." Mira warned from where she was perched on their backs.

"And that it why you don't cross Mira during study time." Malacai called out from where he sat.

"Oh shut up!" Chance glared at his friend who tried to appear superior.

"We all know you're just trying to get on Mira's good side." Chase seconded. "It's obvious you still have a crush on her—"

"Shut up!"

Malacai dived at the twins who freed themselves from under Mira. The girl hit her head when she fell, causing Kise to worry for the girl. Kagami howled at the three making noise, Momoi attempted to try and calm them down, Kuroko watched with amusement in his eyes, Kanika worried for her friend who was still rubbing her head while keeping Kise at arms length, and Aomine was doing his best to not laugh at the sight. Jason quickly put a stop to the nonsense as he tripped the twins and sent all three of them sprawling to the ground.

"Can I?" Jason asked from where he stood over the three.

"Be my guest." Mira grunted.

Yells of pain could be heard before Jason returned back to his circle. The three were left on the ground as the groups merged together to form one large group. Despite his initial reluctance, Aomine found himself enjoying things. And to his surprise, he was learning. Not to mention he was enjoying the little hand currently trapped in his. If he could study like this all the time then he'd be game.

"Heads up!"

"Ha?"

Jason had managed to pull Kanika out of the danger zone in time for them to watch a pencil case smack Aomine in the face. The blue haired boy's eyebrow twitched in anger as the case slid off his face. He grabbed the case, ready to chunk it back at whoever had flung it till he saw the look on Mira's face. She was standing directly across from Aomine, her glare directed at the twins before her. She looked up at Aomine and then to the case as an idea flashed in her eyes. The red head motioned to the twins with her eyes before looking to Aomine, hoping he wasn't as dumb as he appeared. A blue blur flew by with Aomine effectively tackling both of the twins to the ground. Chance was in a headlock while Chase had Aomine's legs wrapped around him.

"Mercy!" they cried out together, sending fits of laugher through everyone watching the sight.

"I'm turning Jason loose on the next ones who fuck around. And I'm giving him permission to not hold back." Mira warned. A resounding knuckle crack from across the room spurred Kagami and Kise into action as Mira went to get Aomine to release the twins.

"I think we'll have to study with you guys more often." Momoi whispered across the table to Kanika. "I haven't seen Dai-chan this happy in a long time."

Sure enough, when Kanika looked across to see Mira finally getting Aomine to release the twins there was a smile on his face. Something so rare that Kanika herself had only seen it a few times. And most were when he'd been on the court. She felt her heart swell with happiness when Aomine tromped back over and took his pencil up again, ready to get back to the task he'd abandoned a little while ago. Let's just say, the pencil and paper weren't the only things Aomine had reclaimed upon returning to his seat.

* * *

A little break from all the seriousess going on lately. I honestly may end up doing an Aomine x Kanika mini story just because I love this pairing so much. I feel like they're so opposite but very good for each other and I squeal like a proud momma when I get to do scenes like this.

On another note a few of you have asked about Yuri's past. Like with all my stories it shall be revealed in due time. Can't give too much away at once otherwise you'd have no reason to read hehe. Another few asked why the long build up to the Winter Cup. Remember the Winter Cup doesn't take place till about October, November time frame. While the anime rushed to it, I'm going to draw things out a little so we get more interactions between Kise and Mira before the big tournament. But I haven't forgotten the main aspect of my story is the sport. Don't worry I got a few ideas floating around for what's to come. I will give you this hint though. If any of you have heard of a tournament called Gus Macker, you're gonna enjoy the next couple of chapters. That's all for now lovelies!


	6. Ch 6 Cutting Loose:Part 1

I believe I promised a two for one special this time around. And for anyone familiar with Gusmacker, you're gonna love these next two chapters. Enjoy!

~*Cutting Loose: Part 1*~

Music played loudly as teams milled about in the park area. The excitement in the air was tangible as the courts were having the finishing touches put on them. One particularly loud group of Americans were chatting enthusiastically while dancing around to the music blaring over the speakers near the sign in booth. The others though, asides from Kagami and Himuro, were struggling to understand the appeal of the mini tournament about to take place. Kise smiled softly as he watched Mira with her friends near the sign in booth as the twins handed over the entry fee.

'How long has it been since we were able to just have fun like this?' Kise thought back on how this whole fiasco had gotten started a few days ago.

It was during practice Kise had gotten a txt from Kasamatsu. It asked if Kise and Hayawaka had already entered the tournament with their new team. If they hadn't, Kasamatsu wanted to get the old Kaijo team together for fun. Kise had nostalgia wash over him as he looked around for Hayawaka to show him the message. His phone had been promptly stolen from him however, as Mira prepared to lecture Kise if a fangirl was messaging him during practice.

"I swear if it's another model or one of your creeper fangirls again….huh? Oh yeah. I heard about this." Mira nodded slightly at the message, her eyes glancing over the poster image attached to the message.

"My senpai want to play in it with the old team! How exciting is that?!" Kise yelled happily. Mira returned his phone to him, only making the blond realize something blaringly obvious. It was a 5 on 5 tournament. Mira wouldn't be able to play with him.

"Do it. It sounds like it's going to be a promising tournament. I know Taiga and Tatsuya both wanted to play in it, so they talked some of the other Seirin second years into playing. Akashi said something about coming to check it out since he'll have a practice match in the area that day. Hmm…I might have to do some baking for Murisakibara tonight too…" Mira muttered the last part under her breath.

"You're not sad we don't get to play together?" Kise sniffled playfully.

"We already called dibs!" Jason's voice called out from the front entrance. Practice was pretty much over and the giant had a habit of hanging around till they were done.

"Wait—how long have you known?" Kise narrowed his eyes at a smug Jason and then looked to Mira.

"For about two weeks now. The twins stumbled across it. It's mimicking a tournament from the states. And since the first trial run is being advertised as a charity event, anyone playing school sports can play. Players from little kids to college players are allowed to enter. I think we're registered in the men's division." Mira tilted her head, trying to remember just what division the guys had entered their team in.

"I'm surprised you're just now hearing about it Kise." Nakamura laughed, joining in the conversation. "West-chan made mention of it when she asked the coach if we could all enter. I'm just going to watch, but it'll prove to be a good learning experience."

"How come you aren't going to enter Nakamura-senpai?" Kise asked. The megane looked to Mira to clarify things as her trademark smirk crossed her face.

"It's a streetball tournament."

True to Mira's words, it was streetball in every sense of the word. Tape was used to mark out the courts they would use. Correction—half courts. The time limit would be two fifteen minute quarters and the baskets were reduced from 2's and 3's to 1's and 2's. They'd taken a page out of America's book and made their own Gus Macker with a few tweaks of their own. The biggest draw that day though had to be the dunk contest that would take place later in the day once the teams were all done playing.

"Over there! Looks like they claimed a spot for all of us." Mira called out from atop of Jason's shoulders.

There were four canopies all arranged together near a few shade trees. All the usual teams were milling about underneath, claiming their own team's spot and throwing their gear there. Mira waved to the others from where she sat on her perch. Takao flagged them down and motioned to a spot between Shutoku and Seirin. Kise threw his stuff down in the area next to Touou and was surprised to see that many of the other teams had the same idea as them. All the players that had moved on to college were back to play in one more tournament with their kohai.

"So, we're the only true high school team here huh?" Malacai asked, looking over the group of people all sharing the same space.

"No. Seirin has a nice mashup going on. I'm kind of surprised to see that they entered two teams." Chance motioned to Kiyoshi who was currently teasing Hyuga with the help of Imayoshi.

"Today is going to be fun to say the least. I wonder how these guys will handle actual streetball." Jason chuckled darkly. His aura spiked, scaring a few of those hanging around near them.

"What does he mean by 'actual streetball'?" Kise whispered to Mira. Fearing for his life a little when the guard dog turned his gaze on to him. Mira looked to the others in their immediate area before letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Does no one read the rules?" She asked, annoyance heavily coating her tone.

"Streetball is streetball. Doesn't make a damn difference to me." Aomine yawned from where he lounged near Kanika.

"Can I get a volunteer?" Mira held up her hand, drawing all attention to her. All the boys were curious to see what she had in mind. Otsubo began to stand, but Takao yanked him back down, already having a good idea as to what was going to happen. Looking much too pleased about it. When no one moved, Wakamatsu volunteered himself. "Take up a defensive stance please. And I apologize for what's about to happen."

"Sure." Wakamatsu grinned smugly. He'd heard stories about the fiery red head, but had yet to face her wrath. The poor fool.

Mira made like she was going to make a drive at Wakamatsu as he stepped to block her. The girl timed it just right as she stuck her hip into his thigh and went right on by. The poor boy sunk to one knee as a sharp pain shot through his leg. Mira could deliver one hell of a hip check when she wanted to. Takao let out the laughter he'd been trying to contain then. Otsubo was suddenly glad that Takao had held him back. That could've been him limping away with a Charlie horse.

"The organizers adopted the Gus Macker rules for this tournament. Meaning you can be a bit rougher than normal and it not count as a foul." Everyone heard the dangerous underlying message. Mira wasn't going to be nice to anyone who happened to get in her way. This is what Mira lived for.

"Still want to be the one to mark her Shin-chan?" Takao asked in a teasing tone. Midorima swallowed hard as sweat began to form on his brow. If Mira could drop Wakamatsu, he could be in for trouble.

Mira took her seat near her team as Takao rolled around on the ground, ignoring the look that Wakamatsu was shooting him. It would do the others to get used to a little rough play. Those in college knew better now. The higher the level of basketball, the more intense it got. The tournament wouldn't start for another hour or so, leaving the players free to do as they wanted. A few wandered out to the courts to test out how it would feel, some went to check out the food and game stalls, and the others just lounged in the shade. Aomine was content where he was using Kanika as a pillow (not like the girl had a choice). The raven haired girl couldn't exactly go anywhere at the moment anyways. She was in charge of supervising Riko and Momoi to make sure they made edible snacks. Himuro and Kagami were chatting each other's ears off as Murisakibara (he'd tagged along for 'fun') munched on the treats Mira had made him. Kagami could cook, but Mira had him beat when it came to making sweets. Which answered the question as to how Mira managed to keep Murisakibara in check as well as Akashi. Apparently, he'd tried some of her treats she'd sent Himuro as a present and had been hooked since. Kasamatsu was abusing Kise per usual, and off in a corner a poker game had somehow broken out with Imayoshi, the twins, Takao, and Izuki. Mira was fidgeting in her seat anxiously with Kuroko watching in curiosity as Malacai pulled something out of his bag.

"It took all night, but I got them done." Malacai proclaimed proudly. He held up an airbrushed shirt with the name 'Beasts' across it. There appeared to be claw marks slashing through the material. On the back were numbers and a basketball with a claw resting on it as the rest of the body remained hidden in the shadows.

"Malacai I love it!" Mira threw herself at the boy, hugging him hard as she reached over his shoulder to get her own shirt.

"Clearly someone isn't over their crush yet." Chance muttered in jealousy while Malacai basked in the praise Mira was giving him.

"Hey Malacai, are they soft or firm?" Chase hinted. The dark skinned boy only then realized that Mira had her chest pressed up against his upper back. The boy blew a gasket before falling over, a nosebleed forming from his wandering dark thoughts.

On cue, Mira dived across at the twins, attempting to strangle the two with their shirts before leaving them on the ground once they'd tapped out. She was only temporarily miffed though as her attention went back to the shirt in her hands. Happiness radiated from the girl like the guys had never seen. Not caring about who saw, Mira yanked her shirt off and gave the guys an eye full of her toned upper core. She quickly pulled the shirt on before tearing the already cut sleeves a little more. She tucked the excess into her sports bra before looking over herself.

"Will you guys hurry up and change? I wanna be a matching set again." Mira beamed at her team. They didn't need anymore prompting than that as they stripped themselves and pulled their own shirts on. Too excited by the new shirts, they headed for an empty court and began messing around.

"Kise-senpai you don't have to be jealous. Mira is just as happy when she plays with Kaijo. I promise." Kanika smiled at Kise who'd been watching the red head again.

It hadn't escaped Kasamatsu's notice that the red head who'd replaced him was a totally different person now. And that it hadn't taken her very long to capture Kise's attention. In the year that Kasamatsu had known Kise, he'd never seen the blond look at a girl like he was Mira. He was completely enthralled. Kise hadn't paid much attention to his fans that day, he hadn't been replying to every crazy text he got, and his eyes always seemed to light up whenever Mira smiled.

"Moriyama, I think you're going to have to give up hope on having Kise be your bait for that mixer you were planning." Kasamatsu muttered to the girl crazy man.

"I had a feeling something like this would happen when we last spoke to our little kohai." Kobori beamed like a proud older brother.

"You think his girlfriend would get mad if I still borrowed him?" Moriyama asked, looking from Mira to Kise.

"Girlfriend?" It was then he turned back in to the conversation his senpai were having. "Who has a girlfriend?"

"It's not like that senpai. Besides, Kise couldn't handle West-chan." Hayawaka shot Kise a teasing look as the dots finally connected.

"I-uh…It's- ah- um…." The poor boy eventually shut up, hanging his head in shame as his face turned bright red.

"She is popular." Moriyama noted, watching as Takao joined the mess around game going on. Jason and Malacai stood off to the sides to watch the sneaks play against each other, Takao and Mira proving to be just as deadly as the twins.

"I'll say. Even Rakuzan approves of her." Kise admitted, surprising the older boys quite a bit.

"If you like her you should confess. The longer you wait, the easier it'll be for someone else to." Kasamatsu smacked Kise lightly in the back of the head. Almost as if he was trying to knock some sense into him.

The tournament kicked off before long. The teams headed out to where their age group would be playing. Mira's team had the first game, so everyone would be able to sit and watch till it was their time to play. The five met in a huddle while their group watched from a safe distance from behind the barricades. Naturally Jason was sent to handle the jump, making the guy jumping against him look small.

"Serious or street?" Malacai called out, his eyes twinkling in hopes Mira would pick the second option.

"What do you think?" Mira called back from where she stood opposite of Jason.

"Street, duh." Chase grinned while flexing his fingers in anticipation.

"Alight let's cut loose!" Chance punched the air as the ref walked out.

The ball was tossed up as the game officially kicked off. Jason won the jump and snapped his wrist, knocking the ball to Mira who'd already jumped in the air in anticipation of Jason's win. While she was still in the air Mira threw the ball up and towards the goal where Malacai jumped and slammed it down. The crowd let out gasps of amazement as cheers broke out. Aomine and Kagami's eyes flashed in excitement, both praying they'd get their chance to face actual street ballers for once. The others felt their jaws fall open in surprise.

"And you have to play against that?" Kimura asked Midorima who watched the game with surprising focus.

"You should see her when she gets serious. West-chan can go one on one against Aomine-san." Takao dropped a bomb on his seniors who just watched the red head with the same looks they'd all worn at one point or another upon meeting Mira.

The Americans played seriously, but had plenty of fun with it. Pulling off trick shots, faking out their opponents with ease, using impressive footwork to trip them up as the score gap kept widening. The two quarters flew by quickly as the game came to an end with a score of 56-23. Despite the vast difference in score, the other team wasn't upset. It's not like Mira and her team had gone out of their way to purposely embarrass them. It was a tournament for fun. And they'd done just that. Had fun.

"Still think you two are better at street ball?" Mira flashed Aomine and Kagami a cocky grin. Purposefully antagonizing them.

"One of us has to beat her." Kagami growled, his competitive spirit flaring up.

"Agreed." Everyone looked to the sky, expecting it to start snowing. It wasn't often the two agreed on anything.

"Oh? Something tells me she'd be an interesting opponent." Imayoshi smirked, sending chills down the spines of his teammates.

"Does anyone else sense trouble?" Hyuga asked. He looked from Imayoshi, to Takao, and then to the twins daring Imayoshi to do his worst.

"It's so nice to see everyone enjoying themselves." Riko giggled with the other two girls nodding in agreement.

Before long Kise was harassing Kasamatsu, asking if he could try some of the moves he'd just witnessed. It wasn't long before abuse ensued. Mira applauded Kasamatsu for his kick, scaring the boy a bit since he was like the male version of Kanika but to a lesser degree. Himuro was happy to see Mira smiling again, with Murisakibara txting on his phone while munching his latest snack. The day was exactly what they all needed. A way to blow off steam and just have fun before getting serious for the Winter Cup.

An unlikely group eyed the happy gathering of players as Aomine had just finished his game, heckling Kagami on the court beside his. To see so many rivals getting along was a sickening sight to them. Even the man who'd once been his senpai was getting along fairly well with them. Hanamiya clenched his teeth in disgust before turning away from the scene.

'I can't wait to make them all trash.' He snickered to himself, snapping his fingers in anticipation for what was to come.

* * *

I had to make mention of the old third years. Those guys were awesome and deserved some kind of cameo. So what better way than a charity event? That, an we were lacking on the basketball scenes lately. So I managed to squeeze both in at once!


	7. Ch 7 Cutting Loose:Part 2

And here's part 2! As an added bonus, for anyone who had hatred for Kirisaki Daichi, you're gonna love this chapter.

~*Cutting Loose: Part 2*~

Mira faked one way before rolling another. Kasamatsu was barely able to keep up with Mira who pushed off hard the other way and jumped up for a shot. Moriyama collapsed to help Kasamatsu, which is what Mira had been waiting for. She passed the ball behind her back to Chance who was waiting for his chance to bust a far off shot. Mira's adaptability was hard enough to deal with by itself, let alone her ambidextrous shooting. Add that to her now unpredictable moves with her original team that knew to never slack off around the girl and it was a lethal combination. Kasamatsu could see how they had held their own against the Generation of Miracles.

"It's nice to know my replacement gives it her all every time." Kasamatsu said as he brought the ball in.

"I appreciate the compliment. Tell me, how much longer are you going to torture Kise?" Mira snickered, motioning to a frustrated Kise standing off to the side.

"He's gets to play you every day. I wanted to check you for myself." Kasamatsu made a move to break past Mira who stuck to the boy like glue.

Mira came to a stop, surprising Kasamatsu who was even more shocked when Jason reached out and tipped the ball away from him. Malacai picked the ball up and tossed it out to Mira who shot it before anyone had a chance to block her. With that, the buzzer for the game went off. It was Beasts win with 48-35.

"I hope I didn't disappoint." Mira winked playfully before being assaulted by Kise.

"Mira! How come you never switched marks?" The boy whined in his usual manner. And just like in the usual manner, Mira elbow him in the gut before smacking him upside the head.

"It's called playing the position dumbass! Both Kasamatsu-san and I are point guards. It makes no sense to mismatch ourselves and put each other at a disadvantage when Chase can handle you just fine. Besides, your senpai wanted to make sure that I was up to snuff. It'd be rude to spit on that request and just go one on one with you." Mira scoffed at Kise who was currently rubbing his sore head. He was pretty sure he was going to have a bruise before this day was over from all the abuse he'd obtained from the two point guards.

"You get her everyday anyways!" Chase called out, pointing at Kise with a look of jealousy on his face.

"For once you aren't getting your way." Chance smirked deviously.

"And that's why Takao-kun and Imayoshi-san don't affect her. Those two are the literal definition of 'double trouble'." Malacai shivered in fear.

Jason for once didn't have the heart to mess up Mira and Kise's playfulness. She was happy. She was her old self. Things were going her way. Jason wasn't about to spoil the mood. Not unless Kise crossed the line. A light chuckle drew Jason's attention to the spectators where a crop of red hair stood out amongst the crowd.

"Akashi-san. Glad you could make it." Jason walked up to shake the boy's hand. He was one that Jason held a lot of respect for in helping Mira during her trying time.

"It seems I haven't missed much." Akashi grinned as the others finally noticed.

"Akashi!" Mira bounced over and into Akashi's arms. The others looked to Kise for an explanation who couldn't offer one. He was just as shocked as the others.

"Aka-chin sees Mi-chin as his imoto-chan." Murisakibara clarified for the others. When he'd wandered over they didn't know.

"How are the others doing Atsushi?" Mira called up to the tall boy.

"The others are still in. We just got knocked out by Shutoku." Kiyoshi chuckled. Even he balked at the sight of Mira still hugging Akashi.

"We were just knocked out too. Speaking of which, who do you play next?" Kobori asked Malacai who was checking the bracket on his phone.

"Who knows? We play here next though. We got a few minutes before our next game so if you guys wanna go see how the others are doing and let us know that'd be great." Mira grabbed her bottle and took a swig while catching her breath.

The group turned to see the players of Kirisaki Dai Ichi standing on the court, already warming up. A bad feeling immediately ran through those who knew the team's dirty tactics. Considering that this tournament already allowed for some rough play, they couldn't see things going well for them. Sensing the dangerous air, the Americans turned to face their opponents to show them that they weren't impressed. It was just another game to them. How bad could it get? They had yet to really meet a team that even remotely took advantage of the lax foul rules.

"Mira be careful. Those guys are known for playing dirty." Kise warned. All playfulness was gone, showing just how serious he took the team on the court now.

"You heard him boys. Play like we normally do and we'll adjust accordingly." Mira called out to her team.

Whispers ran through the crowd as word of the match just now starting spread like wildfire. The two teams bowed before setting up. Jason won the jump and snapped his wrist towards Chance. They were hoping to start the game out by busting a three (A/N: worth two points remember). His guard had other things in mind. As Chance shot the ball, Kojiro (fish eyes) turned to box him out there. He stepped on Chance's foot hard and stuck an elbow into his chest. Similar rough play occurred beneath as Jason was elbowed, Malacai was kneed in his leg, Chase was almost elbowed in the face during the rebound as he managed to get the ball and kick out to Mira. She easily dribbled past Hanamiya and went up for one of her shots. Just as his teammates blocked the ref's view, Hanamiya brought his arm down hard and knocked Mira to the ground. She sunk her shot and scored her team the first point on the board.

"Foul!" "Come on that's too rough!" "Cheap shot!"

Calls rang out from the crowd around. It didn't affect Kirisaki Dai Ichi however. They were used to the negative criticism. If anything, Hanamiya fed off it. This is what he'd wanted. A chance to break everyone's new favorite girl. He turned to give Mira a fake apology in his usually condescending tone. A light giggle kept him quiet though.

"Heh. I see. So this is what they were talking about." Mira pushed herself off the ground and to her feet. There was light bleeding on the scrap on her head and a nasty case of road rash on her left side, but nothing too serious.

"Are you okay?" The ref asked, looking over Mira who was holding the bottom of her shirt to her wound to stop the bleeding.

"I'll be fine. It was my fault ref." Mira smiled brightly. The ref was a bit surprised by her statement. While he hadn't seen the actually play, he knew that someone didn't fall to the ground as hard as Mira did without being fouled.

"Are you sure?" He pressed, locking gazes with Mira who released the pressure to see if she was still bleeding.

"Yeah. It wasn't a foul. I'm good." Mira smirked widely at the man who froze once he understood her message. "Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything worse than them."

"Akashicchi is she?" Kise asked, sensing the air around Mira.

"She is." Akashi confirmed. His eyes widened in excitement. While he hated being on the receiving end of what was to come, it never failed to peak Akashi's interest.

"Ha?" Murisakibara asked, wondering why the two seemed so tense. He would soon find out why.

It was Kirisaki Dai Ichi's ball as Hanamiya started up top with Mira guarding him. A bad feeling began to grow in him. One that he couldn't explain. He'd been waiting for Mira to cry out in pain. To call him a cheat, to say that he played dirty, to do something to label him the villain. Yet, she'd giggled and brushed it off. Even her own team didn't seem too worried by the rough play. There was a visible shift in the air though. Something Hanamiya couldn't pin down. He shook off the bad vibes and made to continue with the game. Everyone on the sides watched as the ball was moved around quickly on the outsides. The Americans weren't giving them a chance to move from where they were pinned down. Only one was relaxed on defense. Hanamiya intended to make Mira pay for it.

"Fool." Akashi said softly when he saw Hanamiya take the bait.

He pushed in hard as Mira finally began picking up her defense. Once they were lost in the scuffle of bigger bodies, she made her move. Mira made to steal the ball as she swung her hips hard and stomped down on Hanamiya's foot at the same time. The guy was sent flying to the ground and ended up falling into another one of his teammates. Mira tossed the ball behind her head as Jason slammed it down with more force than necessary. It would seem the others hadn't escaped unscathed either. Taking a page from their opponent's books Chance, Malacai, and Chase had dealt some blows of their own.

"Oops. Did I hit you too hard?" Sarcasm dripped from Mira's voice as she walked over to Hanamiya who was just now picking himself up off the asphalt.

"That was a foul!" He called out to the ref whose eyes were hard. The guy who'd done the same thing earlier was now crying wolf?

"Let me explain something to you…" a hard edge slid into Mira's voice as she looked up at Hanamiya. "while I don't go out of my way to play dirty, I'm not above playing dirty right back. And I can promise you I'm much better at it than you'll ever be."

The bad feeling Hanamiya had felt earlier came out in full force. He'd picked a fight with the wrong team. Small yellow rings had appeared around shrunken violet orbs. Mira's demon mode had activated. He looked to the others on her team and saw the same look reflected in their eyes. They were daring them to keep playing rough. Because they would be just as happy to dish it right back.

_._._

Kagami and Aomine were bickering per usual as they and the others made their way towards the court Mira was playing on. To their surprise, quite the crowd had formed. And when they heard who exactly was playing them it prompted the boys to push through the people in order to see just what was going on. Kagami and Himuro feared the worst when they finally broke through the throng of people. Kanika prayed things were okay as fear began to creep up in her throat when she looked up at Aomine's worried face. Even the Seirin boys managed to push through to see just how bad the damage was. After their own run in with the dirty players, they didn't wish that rough play on anyone.

Cheers rang out for the Americans as Malacai was currently in a dribbling match up with Seto (greaseball). He was having fun embarrassing the boy and making him look stupid in front of everyone who was cheering him on. He broke past easily and dumped the ball off to Chase who took his chance to deliver some punishment of his own. He drove in and rolled hard, catching Hiroshi (orange haired guy) with a shoulder and knocking him back. He pulled off an under the hoop layup with the crowd roaring to life in response.

"What's going on?" Kiyoshi asked, looking for someone to explain.

"They're giving Kirisaki Dai Ichi a taste of their own medicine." Aomine breathed, already on board with the idea. One look to Mira told him exactly what was going on. Kirisaki Dai Ichi had been stupid enough to summon forth a demon.

"How is the ref allowing this?" Kimura looked to the ref who watched with passive eyes.

"Mira got the ref on her side from the first play. As long as nothing too rough occurs he lets it happen. No one has any sympathy for them." Akashi spoke up from where he stood. Scaring the players near him since they hadn't expected him to be there.

As if to prove his statement correct Mira drove in, forcing Hanamiya to work at his position rather hard. She timed it right and chunked the ball at the backboard for a formless shot. Hanamiya barely moved his head in time to avoid getting smacked in the face. Jason down below performed a hard box out on his man in preparation for the rebound. By now this wasn't a game. It was a lesson for Kirisaki Dai Ichi and the court was the classroom. Bruises covered both sides, but the Americans didn't slow down from the rough play. They appeared to be enjoying. They wouldn't shy away from a hit, they would deliver harder hits of their own, and they made sure to show Kirisaki Dai Ichi that they'd pick a fight with the wrong team.

It was then Hanamiya had enough. He stood up top with Mira sticking close to him. He was pissed off that Mira had embarrassed him so thoroughly in front of so many people. He gritted his teeth hard in anger. There was only a few seconds left, but he was going to make sure he got the last laugh. Hanamiya moved like he was going to pass the ball to his left with Mira moving accordingly with him. A sneer crossed his lips as he jerked his arm back hard with his elbow stuck out. He was aiming for Mira's unguarded face. Kagami, Himuro, and Aomine all gripped the metal make shift fence as they prepared to hop over and take the guy down. With her lighting quick reflexes, Mira had reacted before anyone else could. She caught Hanamiya's elbow and held him there with ease. Hanamiya glanced down at the girl, ready to yell some kind of insult at her until he saw her eyes. Fear froze Hanamiya in place as he stepped away from the girl just as the buzzer for the game rang out. With the score of 75-38, Mira's team were the victors.

Cheers rang out from all over as Mira broke contact with Hanamiya to turn to her teammates. Jason picked the girl up as the others all cheered as well. They were beaten, battered, and bruised, but it was nothing they couldn't recover from. Once Mira was put back down on the ground she walked to the ref and bowed before him. Her friends copied the action as the ref stood in shock. It was there way of thanking him for allowing them to fight like they had. Another volley of cheers rose up once more as the court was cleared out for the next game.

"Mira!" Kagami hollered, wrapping his cousin up in a tight hug.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Taiga not so rough!" Mira squirmed in his grip till the huge boy let her go.

"You should get checked out. That first hit was pretty nasty." Akashi suggested, moving her bangs aside to look at the cut. Cue jaw drops from those who weren't used to seeing the Rakuzan captain worry for someone else.

Not leaving it up for debate, Kise walked by and scooped Mira up and over his shoulder. Naturally the red head protested loudly and called out for help, but no one could stop laughing long enough to offer assistance before the two had disappeared into the crowd. Kise ignored Mira's protests and took her back to the canopies with all their stuff underneath. Once there he placed Mira down gently and grabbed Kanika's bag. He knew she always carried some kind of first aid on her.

"I'm telling you it's not that bad. I've gotten worse playing Taiga and Tatsuya." Mira narrowed her eyes in annoyance at Kise.

"Humor me." He smiled softly while getting everything ready.

Mira shrugged before reaching up and pulling her shirt off. It was only then Kise realized that Mira was sitting half naked in front of him with only her sports bra to cover her top. His face turned bright red as his eyes involuntarily looked over her body. His embarrassment disappeared quickly though when he saw the bruise forming around the scrape near her left hip. Mira reached out for the gauze he had in his hands and poured water over it. She gently wiped the scrape on her side and legs off, cleaning the little rocks out of her wounds in the process. Once that was done she tossed the spray to Kise and motioned for him to use it. Kise shook the spray up before applying it. Mira bit back a slew of curses as the sting rocketed through her body. Once both wounds had calmed down, Kise looked to the scrape on her head. He repeated the cleaning process before sitting back and looking her over.

"How do you feel?" Kise asked, reaching out and stopping just short of touching her side.

"Sore, but fine. I'm serious. I've had worse. You've seen it remember?" Mira said softly.

"I know." Kise reached up and grabbed the back of Mira's head. He gently pulled her head towards his so that their foreheads were touching. "I got a bit scared when I saw your Demon Zone activate."

"I don't feel even remotely bad. They shouldn't have played dirty." Mira quickly justified.

"I know. But don't scare me like that okay?" Kise pleaded softly, pulling back just enough to look her in the face. His other hand somehow found hers and wrapped around it. Giving it a squeeze to show just how serious he was.

"No promises. But I'll try." Mira promised, squeezing his hand back. Unlike the first time Kise had held her hand, this time didn't freak her out. For some reason this time felt right. There was the familiar warmth Mira had grown accustomed to.

"I believe you have a tournament to win." The two wore matching grins as Mira grabbed her shirt before rushing out after Kise.

_._._

Imayoshi's jaw dropped when he watched Mira yet again hold her own with some of the best players out there. It had come down to hers and Kagami's team facing each other. Turns out being from the source of basketball really had its perks. Instead of sticking to strategies and trying to just outsmart your opponent, you were also taught to think more creatively. Imayoshi had seen the results himself when Aomine had adopted the wild style himself. To see five people using it all at once on a small court was amazing. In such a packed area you had to think outside the box. It forced you to get creative. And clearly the Americans had the upper hand in this.

Himuro did his best to handle Mira while Kagami fought it out with Jason. Just because the punk usually hid out underneath the goal didn't mean he couldn't handle a ball. More than once the two had matched up in a one on one setting. Jason was as agile as he was big. Furihata did what he could against Chance, but struggled in keeping up with his quick shot ability that made Sakurai look slow. Since Chase, asides from Mira, was the only other one who could handle Kuroko due to his ability to match rhythm's with another player he was doing his best to keep the shadow pinned down. As for Malacai? He had to commend the effort Fukuda was putting in to try and stick with him. It was clear that his skills were no match for the natural born streetballer that was like the American version of Aomine. But the guy didn't give up. The buzzer for the game finally went off with a final score of 60 to 48. Having the experience of playing in a confined area and knowing how to move inside it as a unit had played to the Americans' advantage.

"I guess my street ball skills are rusty." Himuro chuckled, watching Mira and her team celebrate off to the side.

"I swear that little shit's gotten better." Kagami growled. There wasn't any bite in his words though. He smiled, watching Mira with the others as they all made their way to the main court.

"We could have our work cut out for us during the Winter Cup." Kuroko noted as Nigou yipped in agreement.

"Aw Shin-chan, are you still mad you didn't get to play her?" Takao teased a very peeved shooting guard.

"He's not the only one apparently." Imayoshi chuckled, glancing back to Aomine who was wondering if he could con Mira into a one on one since Kagami's team had been the ones to knock his team out.

"Don't forget, Mira isn't the only one you should be worried about." Kise reminded the others.

"It shall be an interesting tournament to say the least." Akashi agreed.

"Huh? I wonder if we'll play Mi-chin, Muro-chin." Murisakibara pondered. After watching Mira's performance today, he'd been another one who'd found himself wanting to step on the court and cross blades with her.

All that would have to wait however. Once the awards ceremony was over, the main event began. The dunk contest. All those that could dunk had lined up for the event. All except Murisakibara. They'd been afraid he'd break the goal if he competed and got too into it. Thankfully, Mira kept him pacified with sweets as the event began. Contestants were given three tries to sink their dunks before being knocked out. Kiyoshi and Otsubo were some of the first ones out since they couldn't quite pull off some of the flashier dunks. Himuro and Wakamatsu were next off the court. This left Kagami, Aomine, Kise, Malacai, and Jason. This is when things got interesting. Alley oops were performed, balls were bounced off the backboard, between the legs, windmills, turn arounds, anything that could be thought up was done. Jason had even called Mira on to the court to toss the ball up for him as he ran and jumped over her before doing a dunk. But thanks to Kise's copy ability he was able to make it further than most. If someone failed their dunk, he would perform the same dunk and succeed. He would've won it too had it not been for the staggered alley oops Malacai had the twins perform. One shot from the three with the other shooting not too long afterwards. Malacai dunked with one hand, pushing himself off the rim and high into the air so that he could grab the other ball with his opposite hand and dunk it as well. There would be no copying that.

"We have our winner folks!"

As the ceremonies began winding down, it was only their group left. The crowd had dispersed by now. Kise let out a defeated sigh before feeling a light nudge in his side. He glanced down to see Mira grinning mischievously up at him. She motioned with her head towards Malacai who was standing there with a brand spanking new ball as his prize. Mira darted ahead first with Kise following right after her. She knocked the ball free from Malacai's hand, ruining his celebration as he rushed after Mira to steal his ball back. The red head tossed the ball up at the backboard with a slight curve, making it to where Malacai couldn't reach it. Kise came flying through at the right time though as he slammed the ball hard through the goal. He hung on the hoop for a bit before landing back on the ground.

Wanting to get in on the fun, Momoi grabbed the loose ball and held it up before running towards the court. She tossed it into the air with Aomine rushing up and pulling off a dunk of his own. This time Riko got it and tossed the ball off to Hyuga who was positioned near the three point line. He shot, only to have Izuki jump and try to block the shot. Takao got the rebound and tossed it behind his back to a waiting Midorima. Before he could shoot, Akashi jumped in front to guard him. Midorima ended up holding the ball too long as Murisakibara stole it from his hands. Jason was the only one able to steal it back in the air, only to have Kuroko knock it away from him on the ground. It turned into a free for all as the ball was passed, stolen, shot, rebounded, and replayed. No one was thinking to the future of the upcoming Winter Cup. No one saw the other as a rival. No one saw divided schools. All that mattered in that moment was a group of basketball idiots having fun.

* * *

So everyone got to see why Mira was so scary, we got to see her demon mode, as well as a dunk contest to end the day out. I'd say it was a nice warm and fuzzy scene. Especially since we all know it won't stay like this for long hehe. Anyways I'm gonna take a longer than usual break since finals just ended so if you don't see a new chapter for a while, you know why. Let me know what you all thought!


	8. Ch 8 Coming to Terms

Sorry for the long wait! To be honest I finished this chapter like a week and a half ago, but it just now clicked that I needed to upload it. My bad...I'll ramble more at the end. For now enjoy!

~*Coming to Terms*~

Yuri found herself re-reading the article basketball monthly had published on the Americans. It was a short article that had a shot of the five after they'd won the street ball tournament. The article didn't do them justice. Yuri remembered being there watching that day. She'd gone with the intention to try and get Mira alone so that she could apologize to the girl. It'd been two weeks since that night. Ever since Kise had explained why Mira had acted the way she had, guilt had been eating away at Yuri. She'd watched how things had been tense for a while between Kise and Mira till they'd finally smoothed out. She couldn't believe she'd almost messed up their friendship. Yuri hated herself. Her self loathing wouldn't let up until she made things right and formally apologize to Mira. The tournament would've been the perfect place to do so. But after seeing how happy the red head had been, how amazingly she and her friends had played, how everyone around her seemed to gravitate towards her….it was a world Yuri was not meant to enter.

Yuri took a deep breath before throwing herself into a backwards handstand and dismount off the balance beam. She built up enough momentum to launch herself into the air as she spun really fast and got her feet underneath her. She had a slight misstep upon landing, but it nothing too major. Yuri finished with her hands high before stepping off the mat. She walked to her towel hanging over the low bar as her gaze trailed around the room. Gymnastics equipment was set up all throughout the place. This gym was one of four inside a multiplex for athletes. There was a basketball court, an indoor baseball training ground, a volleyball court, and the gymnastics area.

'Despite what happened, I can't stay away.' There was a touch of sadness in Yuri's sapphire eyes. She could almost imagine the cheers of the crowd, the sound of her floor music playing in the background, the feel of the chalk on her hands. It was something she would never feel in competition ever again.

She headed over to where her gear sat waiting for her. Yuri grabbed her stuff before heading off to the locker room to change. Once she was done she allowed her braid to fall out of the makeshift bun she'd put it in. Yuri didn't know why she kept coming here and torturing herself. She'd sworn off gymnastics ever since that incident. But for some reason she couldn't stay away. Yuri headed out of the empty gym and walked by the front desk to thank the owner again for allowing her to always practice so late into the night.

Yuri gripped the straps on her bag tightly as her mind drifted back to Mira once more. The memory of her confronting Yuri, and the memory of Kise explaining her actions both played in her mind. Just what had Mira had to face to become so cold hearted? What had driven her to that point that she had to become a demon in order to beat her oppressor? Yuri had not only experienced it first hand, but seen it used in all its glory against Kirisaki Dai Ichi who'd started with the dirty play. Mira had been unafraid. She wouldn't run. She knew how to stand her ground and fight. Something Yuri couldn't ever dream of doing. Not against those that had driven her from the sport she so desperately wished to rejoin.

"Oh, they got the new gear out finally?" Yuri muttered to herself as she came to a stop outside a sporting good store.

She didn't know why her eyes were drawn to the new hand grips and leotards that had just hit the shelves. It's not like she needed them anyways. Yet, she still found herself wandering inside to go look at them anyways. She headed to the volleyball/gymnastics area and began perusing through the new items. She supposed if she kept practicing she could afford to spend some money on new grips for when she did bars. Not like she'd touched the bars since there was no one to spot her. But it wouldn't hurt to get them regardless.

"Well, well…look who it is." A male voice snickered. Yuri felt her blood run cold. She looked over her shoulder to see two boys standing over her. And they were wearing warm up suits from her old school. Kitagawa Gakuen.

"If it isn't dear old Yuri-chan." The second said in a disgusted mocking tone.

"Now why would you be looking at new gear? Didn't you quit?" the first one questioned, yanking the package out of her hand.

"Of course not! She's still sleeping her way to the top!" The second one chortled.

"I honestly thought the captain had better taste too." They both laughed as Yuri bolted out of there.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" One of the guys caught her wrist just as she darted out of the store.

"Don't you want to catch up like old days?" The other one began to wrap an arm around Yuri. She already knew where this was going. And she didn't like it one bit.

"No!" Yuri screamed, trying to yank her wrist free before they could get a good grasp over her.

"Ow!" A cry of pain rang out as the first guy's hand was yanked back hard. "Who the hell?!"

"I don't think the lady appreciates your company." Kise said coldly. The two balked, surprised by how big the guy was. They were both easily 5'11, but the few extra inches Kise had on them made a big difference.

"Is this the latest one you're giving it up to Yuri-chan?" The first one spat, glaring up at Kise who was unphazed. Compared to an angered Aomine and Kagami fighting in the middle of a match, these two were nothing.

"I-It's not like that." Yuri meekly whispered.

"Clearly she doesn't wish to speak to you. I suggest you leave. Now." Kise took a step towards them menacingly.

Seeing that their easy prey was now gone, the two scurried off. Kise clicked his tongue in irritation before turning to Yuri. The girl was shaking like a leaf. Kise glanced back in the direction the guys had taken off in before pulling Yuri to him. He held the back of her head with one hand in an effort to calm her down. It worked. Yuri gradually felt herself calming down next to Kise. The boy just had a very calming aura around him. Once Yuri had stopped shaking she looked up to see Kise giving her a gentle smile. He reached out to wipe away the tear that had formed at the corner of her eye as she just stared up at him. Wide eyed and still very fearful.

"Those were your old teammates weren't they?" Kise asked softly.

All Yuri could do was nod in response. Kise was lucky he'd happened to go shopping that day. He could tell from the look in Yuri's eyes that something bad could've happened had he not appeared. He gently guided her to a nearby café and ordered something for the two of them. Yuri held the tea between her hands, not really thirsty enough to drink. But the warmth from the cup gave her something real to focus on.

"I can see now why West-chan is so protective of you. You're a good friend." Yuri said softly once she could speak again.

"What did they want with you?" Kise gently prodded while taking a bite out of his cake.

"Nothing in particular. They just hate me." It was true. They all hated her for how close she'd once been to her old captain. For how fast her talent had bloomed. For letting them down when they'd needed her the most. "They still hold a grudge from when I walked away."

"That's no reason to attack you." The boy growled angrily. Yuri couldn't help the little giggle that escaped her lips. "What?"

"Nothing." She shook her head softly before finally sipping on her tea. "I see things are better between you and West-chan."

"Yeah. Surprisingly she apologized to me!" Kise pointed to himself while laughing.

"She doesn't exactly seem like the approachable type when she's angry." Yuri seconded. She stared down into her tea, her thoughts plain as day on her face.

"You want to apologize for that incident, don't you?" Kise guessed. All Yuri could do was nod in response.

"It's hard to approach her around the others though. And….I don't think they'll let me anywhere near her anyways." Shivers shot through Yuri's body when she recalled the pissed off looks all the boys had worn that night.

"Well, why don't I help?" He offered with that infectious energy of his.

_._._

At the same time….

Mira griped to herself, wishing she hadn't been suckered into this shopping trip. Kanika smiled back at her friend while Riko and Momoi led the way. Talk of a local festival had been mentioned one day during lunch at school. Momoi had asked Kanika if she and Mira would like to join the group they were trying to round together for a local festival taking place. It had been during said conversation that Mira had dropped the bomb that she didn't have a yukata. Having lived in the U.S. all her life she was still getting used to all the going ons of Japan. When Kanika had found this little bit of information out she had coordinated with Momoi and Riko to take Mira shopping. The three girls had shown up on her doorstep earlier that day after exams had ended. Kaijo students had been allowed to leave once they'd finished their exams. Touou and Seirin had both had a half day. So they'd caught the girl after she'd woken from a nap still dressed in the cotton shorts and muscle shirt she slept in. They hadn't given her a choice in the matter. After a quick shower and an approved outfit by the three, Mira had been dragged out of her apartment and on this trip she deemed ridiculous.

"Oh, what about this one?!" Momoi squealed while holding up a light blue yukata fabric.

"I don't get any of this." Mira grumbled while looking at some of the darker colors. She did her best to stay away from the bright colors that the other three were squealing over.

Mira swore she was missing a feminine gene somewhere. She knew how to dress kinda cute, but she had never really put much effort into it. Like today's outfit. It was an off the shoulder shirt with dark jeans and her only pair of black heeled shin high boots. She'd left her hair down with her bobby pins still holding the right half back out of her face. Mira didn't do girly. She didn't do dress up. Hell, she'd never been on a date! If the twins didn't always insist on dressing her up like a doll when they went out (which she'd put a stop to) then Mira wouldn't own anything remotely dressy.

"Mira? Have you found anything yet?" Kanika asked as the older girls let out another volley of squeals.

"How am I supposed to know what looks good and what doesn't? I honestly don't get any of this." Mira admitted as she let the fabric in her hand fall.

"Well, most girls either go with their favorite color or something that accents their skin tone. Hmm." Kanika took a step back and looked over her friend. If there was one thing she was good at, it was subtle fashion. "You know, I think I have the perfect one."

Kanika wandered down to the black fabric. Mira had honestly thought they wouldn't let her go down too far in to the dark colors. The quiet girl reached out and pulled at a certain pattern with a grin on her face. Momoi and Riko had stopped their squealing long enough to see what Kanika was holding up. She motioned to Mira with her chin as the two looked from the material to Mira. The material was pitch black with darker than usual cherry blossoms scattered across the fabric with wisps of light blues and purples mixed in. The pattern wasn't too busy and very elegant.

"Success!" The older girls chirped together.

"Not many people can pull off black but I think it'll look really good on you Mira." Kanika smiled reassuringly.

"Sure, why not?" Mira shrugged, not having much choice but to trust her friend. After getting a gold obi and sandals to complete the look the girls took off.

The other three chattered happily amongst themselves as Mira found her mind wandering. She wasn't sure why she'd agreed to the venture. She would've been just as happy to go to the festival in normal clothing. She could already sense the ribbing that was to come. Mainly from Aomine and Kagami. Mira briefly wondered if she should load up the small hand purse that the girls had insisted she buy to go with the outfit with rocks before going out that night. Wait, what if the others saw her in it? What would Midorima and Takao think? Worse yet….what about her teammates? Mira knew she'd never live it down if the guys saw her being girly for once.

'What about Kise?' Mira thought to herself as she tried to picture herself in the yukata.

Would Kise think she was cute? Would he laugh? Would he just treat her the same as always? Mira didn't know which reaction was worse. Or why she was even worrying about his reaction to begin with. Why did she care what Kise thought of her? And when had that started happening? That right—when Kise had started getting touchy feely and giving her those piercing half lidded looks. The most recent being the one they'd shared under the tent during the streetball tournament.

'Shit…I think I really like him.' Mira admitted to herself. She was no stranger when it came to having a crush. She'd experienced the feeling a few times. But only once before had it been this strong of a presence in her mind. And that one hadn't exactly ended well. 'Why is it always those that are the closest to me?'

Mira was still unsure though. Were her feelings for Kise genuine or were they just a proxy of how grateful she was and felt like she owed him something for all he'd done for her? Mira didn't know. And she wasn't exactly too eager to find out. It was a sticky situation. Even if she liked Kise for real there wasn't much she could do about it. They were on the same team. The two already had a rocky enough relationship without adding feelings into the mix. If something bad were to happen between the two of them it wouldn't be just them that got hurt. Their team would be caught in the crossfire.

'I hate being a female sometimes…..' Mira pouted to herself.

She looked up to see that Momoi and the others had turned the corner. Mira was fixing to follow when a crop of blond hair caught her attention. With Kise on the brain, she turned expecting to see him. Sure enough, there he stood. Only he wasn't alone. Mira watched as Kise drew Yuri towards him with one hand in a comforting motion. It was too far away to tell what had prompted the motion, but Mira didn't like it. Something shot through her that left her feeling as if she had something stuck in her throat. Mira gripped her bag tighter as she watched the two head towards a small café with Kise's arm around the girl. Guiding her. Protecting her. That feeling inside Mira only grew till she realized what it was. Jealousy.

'Get a grip girl. Kise is just a sucker for helping people. Besides, she snapped at you because of her fear from the past. More than likely something triggered it and Kise felt the need to help her. Why the two are together, I don't know. And I shouldn't care. It's just a coincidence.' Mira nodded firmly to herself before turning to catch up to the three hollering at her. But the further Mira got away from Kise, the more her chest and throat hurt. And the more she put herself in denial.

* * *

And we get to see a little more of Yuri's past making her who she is. As well as getting to see some of Mira's thoughts about the thing called 'love'. Chapter is a tad short but I will make up for it in the next one I promise. Again sorry about the long wait everyone!


	9. Ch 9 One Sided

Sorry for the delay in updating! I caught a nasty bug and had to do nothing for a week while my body recovered. I know this one is a tad short but it's better than nothing at the moment. Again sorry and enjoy.

~*One Sided*~

Music played as kids ran around chasing each other. One bumped into Mira, almost sending her crashing to the ground. She grabbed on to Kanika to steady herself, shooting an annoyed glare after the kids who hadn't seen her. How anyone could move in a yukata was beyond her. The thing was a tad constricting and required a certain bit of delicacy to be able to walk in the sandals. Once she had her balance back Mira let Kanika go.

"I swear I'll never wear this damn thing again as long as I live." Mira complained.

"Oh stop being such a wet blanket West-chan. It looks cute!" Momoi complimented. She was sporting a sky blue yukata with Tsubaki flowers on it.

"It's not often we get to enjoy girly things like this. Take advantage of the chance." Riko seconded. She had on a yellow yukata with fans.

"Hard to enjoy when I can't walk." Mira shot a glare at the two who hid behind their fans.

"Hang on." Kanika made a few adjustments before stepping back. She herself was in a teal yukata with cherry blossoms like Mira. "How's that?"

"Better." Mira noted. "Still don't like it. But better."

Kanika knew the real reason Mira hated the outing. She was out of her comfort zone majorly. The girls had all taken part in getting Mira ready that night. Kanika had helped Mira to put the yukata on, Riko had styled Mira's hair into a cute sideways ponytail look, with Momoi adding just a subtle hint of blush colored gloss to her lips. Mira had never really seen herself as a girl. She always saw herself as one of the guys. Tonight however, Kanika was going to make sure Mira was one of the girls. She'd even made sure to take a group picture to commemorate the event of their girls' day.

"I see the guys!" Riko called out, waving to them as they made their way through the crowd.

"Do I have to?" Mira whined for what felt like the tenth time that night.

"Yes." Both Kanika and Momoi answered. They looped their arms through Mira's and forced her forward.

"There you are." Kiyoshi grinned down at Riko who moved to stand near Hyuga.

"Is that?" Takao asked, rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing correctly.

"Mira?" Kagami asked with a dumbstruck look on his face. Kuroko jabbed his light in his side to remind him of his manners.

"It is a good look for you." Midorima complimented while fixing his glasses.

"You look lovely Mira." Himuro tacked on.

"You look like a girl for once." Aomine, with no tact, yawned loudly. Kanika shot him a look as she puffed her own cheeks out in annoyance. The boy balked, trying to figure out what he'd done before receiving a jab from Kuroko himself.

Mira shuffled there awkwardly. She didn't mind having the attention on her as long as it was for basketball. She didn't know how to act in this type of situation. She knew the look wasn't her usual style. But did it really seem so weird? Once Kuroko and the girls had gotten the guy's attention they began to head for the food stalls. Mira began walking, but cursed when she began to stumble again. Midorima offered her his arm, keeping his eyes forward as he did so. She nodded in thanks before grabbing on to him for support.

After getting over her initial embarrassment, Mira found herself having fun. She played in the games, enjoyed good food, and was eventually figuring out how to move in the yukata. The festival was quite fun. She wished that their whole group could've come and had fun with them. Akashi and Murisakibara were too far away, even though Himuro had made the trip to enjoy time with his surrogate family. The Kaijo boys had other plans and Mira didn't know what Kise was doing since he hadn't bothered to respond to hers or Kanika's txts from earlier that day. And Mira's friends had things to take care of in regards to school paperwork.

'I wonder if I should get them all a souvenir?' Mira thought to herself as she stopped at a stall selling all kinds of trinkets.

Mira had finally settled on keychains for the guys. She paid for the items and turned to see that she'd lost sight of her group. Mira clicked her tongue in annoyance as she wandered around trying to find them. You'd think Kiyoshi would be easy to see. Or at least Aomine's, Midorima's, or Kagami's hair would stand out some. Mira grunted to herself as she just fell in with the flow of the crowd. She placed the keychains in her small hand bag before reaching for her phone to see if she could call someone. Mira looked up then to see something that caused her to freeze where she stood. Kise was wandering through the crowd in a cross direction. He had a smile on his face and was laughing about something. With him? Yuri. She was dressed in a gorgeous lime green yukata. Her hair was done up fancily with a beautiful pin to hold it in place. Light touches of makeup adorned her face and gave her an air of maturity. Mira couldn't help but think that the two looked good together. Like they belonged together.

'…I'm such a fucking dumbass…'

Before the tears could fall Mira turned and forced her way out of the crowd. She broke free and pulled the bottom of her yukata up as best she could so that she could move faster. To get farther away from the festival. To run away from the scene that she'd just seen. To escape the crushing feeling threatening to knock her to the ground. Mira didn't want to face the truth. She didn't want to face her growing fear. Mira liked Kise. And there was no way he would ever return her feelings.

A sandal snapped then, sending Mira crashing to the ground. She landed hard on a grassy patch. Mira let out a his as her old bruise on her side flared up with vengeance. She didn't try to pick herself up off the ground. Mira gripped the grass hard as the tears finally came as well as realization. She liked Kise. Cared for him deeply. Wanted to be the one by his side. She wanted to be the one he would laugh with. To be the one to smile with him. To be the one to say Kise was hers. The weight of her feelings bared down hard as Mira sobbed into the grass. She'd been stupid to let herself believe that Kise would ever see her as more than a friend. She'd been stupid to think that his touches, the way he'd looked at her, how he'd held her hand….these actions hadn't had the same meaning to Kise as they had to Mira.

"Mira?" A breathless voice called out.

The red head pushed herself up off the ground to see Himuro staring at her with wide concerned eyes. He'd been the first to notice when Mira had been separated. When he'd found her he'd been about to call out until seeing the look upon Mira's face. Pain, anger, jealousy, and inadequacy. It had taken all Himuro had to not lose Mira as she'd ran like her life had depended on. To escape whatever she'd seen to cause her so much pain.

Himuro slowly walked to Mira as he struggled to regain his breath. Sweat dripped down his face and neck and his usually calm demeanor was shaken. Had he chased her down? Mira didn't care. A fresh wave of tears overcame her as she looked away from Himuro. The boy wasted no time in closing the distance and wrapping Mira in his arms. He held her tightly as Mira wailed into his chest. With Himuro she didn't have to be strong. He knew the real her. He was one of the few she could let her guard down around.

"Shh…It's okay. What's wrong?" Himuro asked softly as he leaned back to wipe her tears away. He held her face gently between his hands as Mira stared into his grey eyes.

"I'm an idiot Tatsuya. I was stupid for believing…." Mira shook her head softly as she leaned back into him. She gripped his shirt tightly as Himuro knew exactly what Mira was trying to say. He was no fool. He knew Mira had been hoping someone else would join their group that evening. He'd seen her looking for him. And Mira had found Kise. If she was in this state, then it meant he'd been with another girl.

"Can you stand?" Himuro asked gently as he looked to the broken sandal. He knew Mira didn't wish to be there.

"I think I twisted my ankle." Mira sniffled. She reached to her ankle as a dull throb finally made itself known.

"There's a nearby river. Let's soak your foot there." He offered with a tender smile.

Himuro gently got his arms under Mira's body and carried her. The red head pulled herself closer to him as the last of her tears began to fall. Anger shot through Himuro as he spared a glance back at the festival. First Kise had ignored Mira and now he'd caused her pain. Again. If Mira hadn't been hurt, he would've gone back and confronted Kise. Himuro could see exactly what Mira thought about herself. She thought she wasn't good enough. That she was lacking something. That she was missing some kind of feminine gene that made her desirable.

He gently set her down on the bank before moving to take off her sock. Mira winced a bit, too proud to show any more weakness in front of Himuro. He chuckled lightly before gently lowering her foot into the water. It was ice cold but would help to kill the swelling. Himuro moved closer to the girl and wrapped an arm around her body in a comforting way. Mira let her hair fall back down before resting her cheek on the crook of his body and arm.

"Don't worry. I won't tell the others." Himuro promised. This was how the two had always been. He'd always known just what Mira was thinking without having to look at her to know.

"Thank you." The last of Mira's tears had finally dried. She was just left with a dazed feeling.

"I know what you're thinking. It's not you. If he can't see that then he'd a bigger jackass than I thought." Venom slid into Himuro's voice as he tightened his grip on Mira.

"How is it not me? The only two guys I've ever liked both rejected me." Mira tried to make light of the situation, reminding Himuro of his own screw up in the past. It was time to right that wrong.

"Mira, would you like to know a secret?" Himuro asked playfully in a way he knew would get her attention.

"What's that?" She glanced up at him as he pointed up in the sky.

"Did you know this is a perfect spot to watch fireworks from?" He grinned, feeling her irritation rising.

"That's your secret?" Mira snapped in annoyance. She turned her upper body to face him with her eyes narrowed the boy.

"No. The secret is that I like you." Himuro admitted with a gentle smile as the first firework shot into the air.

Taking advantage of Mira's shock, he leaned in and kissed the corner of Mira's mouth. He wasn't so worked up as to steal her first kiss, but he would make his intentions know. He kept his lips pressed there for a few seconds before slowly pulling away. Mira's eyes were wide as she tried to struggle to understand what had just happened. She finally figured out how to move again as she looked to Himuro for an explanation.

"I know what I said to you a couple years ago. I only said that because I knew I was returning to Japan and you deserved to try and find happiness without me ruining things for you. To my surprise, you showed up here." Himuro chuckled lightly, wiping away a smudge of dirt from earlier off her face.

"Why now?" Mira whispered. She could feel Himuro's hand over hers as he locked gazes with her.

"I could see you had an inkling of something for Kise. I promised myself that if he was what you wanted I would stay out of the way. Then he hurt you. You still wanted to believe in him though. I told myself that if he hurt you again I wouldn't stand by this time. Mira—I'm serious. I like you. I won't stay on the sidelines any longer. I refuse to hand you over to anyone else." He grasped her hand lightly and brought it to his lips. He kissed her knuckles lightly, never breaking eye contact with her. Showing just how serious he was.

Mira didn't know what to think. Too much had happened in one night for her to process. All she knew now was that her body was tired and she needed rest. Even though the partial kiss had caught her off guard, it wasn't enough to deter Mira from relying on Himuro. She leaned into him once more as he held her against his body. It was then Himuro's phone went off. It was Kagami. He answered and quickly relayed that he had Mira and they were near the river where she was resting. He hung up shortly after that and put his phone away. Himuro spared a glance at Mira to see she was starting to fade off as her eyes struggled to remain open. He pulled her body into his lap, making sure to get her foot out of the water in the process. He pulled off his cover shirt and tore a piece off to wrap her ankle up and proved some kind of compression. Once that was done he drew Mira back to him, glad to see that she didn't try to fight him. The minute she leaned against him again, her eyes fell shut and she was asleep. Himuro gently stroked the face of the sleeping girl against him. Even after his sudden confession and kiss, she still trusted him enough to let her guard down like this around him.

"Tatsuya!" Kagami called out as he and the others came rushing over. With the addition of one more.

"What happened?" Kise asked with wide worried eyes. It didn't escape the notice of the observant ones how Himuro completely ignored the boy.

"She's fine. Mira tweaked her ankle and couldn't walk so we were resting here. It'd be best if we got her home." Himuro said as he managed to stand up with Mira in his arms.

"I can take her if you'd like." Kagami offered as the others were relieved to hear that she was fine.

"It's fine. I don't want to wake her. Besides, Mira isn't that heavy." Himuro chuckled lightly as he adjusted his grip.

Takao glanced up at Midorima, the two sharing the same thought it seemed. Himuro looked at Mira as if she was something precious, something special, something that he was lucky to have. He looked up to see Kise attempting to move closer to see Mira. Himuro's posture changed to a protective stance as he openly glared at Kise. The message was loud and clear. 'You aren't needed.' Midorima may be a tsundere when it came to himself, but with others he could be almost as observant as Kuroko. He had a younger sister himself. He knew what tear stained cheeks looked like. Even if most of the evidence had been wiped away. He also knew what the protective older sibling stance looked like. Himuro had displayed it many times before. That was not the case this time.

"Shin-chan?" Takao questioned the megane.

"I don't know. There's more than what we're seeing." Midorima watched as Himuro turned and began heading back before Kagami. The red head thanked the group one last time before jogging to catch up to Himuro. "Things are going to get a bit sticky from here on out though."

* * *

Tatsuya finally makes his move! For anyone who had been guessing, yes he'd once had a thing and turns out he still has feelings for Mira. As for where this will go...even I don't know at this point to be honest lol. But it does make for an interesting love triangle later on down the road. For now let me know what you think. Till next time!


	10. Ch 10 What the Heart Wants

~*What the Heart Wants*~

Kise paced around in front of the school nervously. Ever since that night, he'd been trying to get a hold of Mira. He'd seen all the missed txt's from the night of the festival only a few minutes after he and Yuri had shown up. Kise had been hoping the two girls would get a chance to talk to each other to try and clear the air. Unfortunately, Mira had twisted her ankle. She hadn't left her apartment all weekend long and refused to answer Kise. He was pretty sure she was mad at him again for ignoring her. Which is exactly why he stood at the gate waiting for her patiently with a small bouquet of flowers in his hands.

"Kise-kun?" Yuri called out from behind him. "What's wrong?"

"Mira's mad at me again. She won't answer my txts or calls." Kise sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair and gripped his bangs tightly in frustration.

"I see." Yuri giggled when she spotted the flowers. "Oh, I think that's her and her friends now."

Kise turned to see Jason and Kanika walking together. Mira was nowhere in sight. Kanika had a look of surprise on her face as Jason zoned out. Or, at least he had till he'd spotted Kise. Disgust and anger crossed his face. Kise hadn't seen Jason this pissed off since the first time they'd met. The punk openly glared at Kise, not doing anything to hide his hatred for the blond. Kise wondered what he'd done to incur his wrath this time as he looked from Jason to Kanika.

"Ichinose-chan, where's Mira?" Kise tried to ask Kanika. Jason roughly bumped shoulders with Kise, causing him to wince from the impact as he was forced to turn around and look at Jason who merely glanced over his shoulder at him.

"She wants nothing to do with you right now. Either of you." Jason shifted his gaze to Yuri who began shaking like a mouse under the gaze of a tiger.

Jason clicked his tongue ring in annoyance before turning and walking away. Kise couldn't understand what was going on. Why was Mira not at school? Was her injury that bad? Was she avoiding him? Kise pulled his phone out, only to stare at the screen. Mira hadn't answered any of his messages so far. If Jason was this pissed off that meant that Kise had done something to hurt Mira. She wouldn't respond to him now. It was then he felt a light tug on his sleeve to see Kanika looking from him to Yuri.

"Kise-senpai…what is Takeshita-chan to you?" Kanika asked softly with wide concerned eyes.

"What do you mean?" Kise said softly. Unable to think clearly at the moment.

"We're just friends Ichinose-chan. Nothing more. I promise." Yuri managed to speak again now that Jason was far enough away from her.

"Is this true?" Kanika looked back to Kise who nodded. It was all he could do at the moment.

"Ichinose-chan, what is going on?" Yuri asked for Kise who couldn't seem to vocalize his thoughts right now.

"Mira saw you two together. Twice." Kanika stated for the second years. "She saw you wrap an arm around Takeshita-san's shoulders once, and then you two were spotted together at the festival after Mira had tried to get a hold of you to find out where you were…"

"Oh no…." Yuri held a hand to her mouth, looking to Kise who caught on to what Kanika was implying.

Mira had seen the two of them. Alone. Together. Kise hadn't thought anything of his actions. But to Mira…it looked like something else. Something intimate. The fact that he hadn't answered his phone and had been seen with Yuri at the festival had only added to Mira's assumptions. But why should that make her so angry at him? Why was Mira refusing to speak to him because of that? Kise tried to put himself in Mira's position and imagined her with some guy. The two of them. Her ignoring his messages for said guy. Even if there was nothing romantic between the two, he knew what it looked like.

"She thought I was on a date?" Kise asked Kanika who nodded softly.

"But that's not what happened! Kise saved me from some guys from my old school the other day! And at the festival we were looking for West-chan so that I could apologize to her." Yuri rushed out, fear in her eyes as Kanika weakly shook her head.

"Mira feels betrayed. Hurt. As if you led her on with your actions." Kanika explained. Kise's eyes widened at this bit of news. "Mira won't be at school for a few days because of her ankle. I think you should try to clear the air before she comes back."

Kanika left Kise standing there as he tried to process the bomb that she'd just dropped on him. Kanika hadn't said it outright, but he knew what she'd suggested. Mira liked Kise. And he could've potentially screwed everything up. Kise knew Mira had trust issues. She had just started rebuilding everything that had been broken by her past demon. She had even started to develop feelings for someone. Kise knew better than anyone that once you started to like someone you started to go down a slippery road. Did the person you liked like you back? If they did, would you two start dating? And if it led to dating, could you put your faith in that person to stay true to you? There were so many things that could go wrong with relationships. It was why Kise had pretty much sworn off dating until he was out of high school unless the girl was something amazing. He hadn't wanted his life to turn into a hot mess all because of a relationship. He'd known Mira had the same idea as him. It's why she'd made the rule of his fans staying quiet or being banned from practice. They were an unnecessary distraction. Basketball had been all the two had needed. Until now.

"Shit." Kise dragged a hand down his face as he headed back to class when the bell rang.

The boy had no idea as to how he could even go about fixing any of this. He could understand why Mira felt like she did. Kise had held her. He'd touched her in an intimate way. He'd flirted with her. He'd worried for her more than what was expected. He'd shown all the signs of being interested in Mira. And she'd caught him alone with another girl. Not once, but twice. And on the second occasion he'd ignored her txt's and it'd seemed like he was on a date. That only made things worse.

'I have to find some way to make this right.' Kise swore to himself.

This was easier said than done. With Mira ignoring him, Kise had to try and find a way to talk to her. Asking Jason for help was out of the question. And Kise knew that Kanika was already in a sticky situation between the two, so he wouldn't put any pressure on her to act as the go between. This left the other options. Kagami or one of the other guys close to her. Kise immediately ruled Kagami out. That was one can of worms he didn't want to open right now. He could ask Kuroko but the shadow would guilt trip him and tell him he probably deserved it. Aomine didn't exactly have a delicate touch and would let Mira know that Kise wanted to talk to her. Midorima wouldn't wish to get involved. Akashi….Kise shivered at the thought of telling Akashi that Kise had potentially caused Mira harm.

'Screw it.' Kise sighed to himself as he pulled his phone out and messaged Kagami.

' _Hey, I heard Mira is on leave because of her ankle. Is there anything I can do for her?'_ It was an innocent enough message to get some kind of information out of the tiger like boy.

' _You can try. Her friends are taking turns staying with her during the week. Something about she can't be trusted to rest on her own.'_

'Great. As if things weren't bad enough as it is.' Kise slammed his head on to his desk, causing those in class to look at him.

The week went by slowly. Between his guilt, his fear of facing Mira and her friends, and the daggers Jason kept throwing at Kise, the only peace he was able to get was at practice. And even then it wasn't much of a reprieve since Mira wasn't there. Kise couldn't help but think back on what he'd done. In his mind he didn't see anything wrong with helping out Yuri. Especially after she'd told him what had caused her to lash out at Mira to begin with. Naturally Kise wanted to protect and help her. He had three sisters himself. His instinct to protect females was naturally high. He'd never thought about how anyone else would perceive his actions. Honestly, he hadn't cared. It's not like it was anyone's business. At least it's what he kept telling himself. He'd always hoped Mira would return his feelings once he'd realized how he'd felt for her. The one person whom he wanted to protect above all others, was the one he'd hurt in the end. Funny how trying to protect one person would hurt another. And by letting things drag on this long he was only adding to what Mira already feared.

"No more." Kise growled as he grabbed his gear and ran out once practice was over.

Kise dug through his wallet and saw that he had enough to afford a cab. He quickly flagged one down and rattled off Mira's address. He would face whatever waited for him at Mira's place. He had to set the record straight now. No more silence. No more grey areas. He would tell Mira how he felt. Kise made a fist as he promised to do whatever it took to regain Mira's faith and show her just how important she was to him.

The cab pulled up just as Jason was walking to the front of Mira's apartment building. Kise paid the driver and hopped out. He steeled himself against Jason's glare as the punk squared up to him. Kise would be lying if he said he didn't fear Jason. But if he had any hope of patching things up with Mira, he had to get past the guard dog first. Kise took a deep breath before taking a few steps towards Jason.

"Look who finally decided to grow a pair and show up." Jason taunted.

"I came to set the record straight with Mira. If you have anything to say or anything you want to do then do it. I've waited long enough to speak to her. I'm not waiting any longer." Kise narrowed his eyes, his conviction clear as day in his golden orbs.

"You know, I'd love nothing more than to slug your pretty face. But Mira wouldn't like that. It would almost be worth facing her wrath just to beat the shit out of someone who caused her so much torment." Jason spat. The punk was seething. It was almost like the first time the two had met. Only difference now was that Jason was holding himself back because he didn't want to anger Mira.

"You think I don't already feel like shit? I know I fucked up okay? No one is more blatantly aware of that but me. If it'll make you feel better I'll give you a free shot later. Just let me talk to her first." Kise moved to push past Jason who was surprised by Kise's words. The Kise he'd first met all those months ago would've backed down. The fact he was standing up to Jason showed just how serious Kise was and how determined he was to speak to Mira to try and set things right.

"Heh. You might not be as spineless as I thought. And I will be claiming that free shot." Jason snickered as he wanted to see how things would play out. Before either of them could move though…. "Huh?" Jason checked his phone to see a message from Malacai. His face fell immediately as he glared at the screen. He reached out and grabbed the back of Kise's collar to stop him from entering the building.

"What the hell?!" Kise shouted at Jason who shoved his phone into the boy's face.

"Mira's not here." Jason grunted. On the screen was a txt from Malacai saying that Mira was with Himuro at the moment. And there were sad emoji's attached to it. "She's out on a date."

Kise felt like he'd just been sucker punched in his gut as all the air left him.

_._._

Mira glanced over to where Himuro was getting them snacks from a street vendor as she sat on the ledge of a water fountain. She wondered again if this was okay. Part of her couldn't help but think Himuro was only doing this to help cheer her up after what she'd seen the night of the festival. His sudden confession that night had taken her off guard. So much so that she'd agreed to a date with Himuro before she'd even realized it once he'd gotten her home. Not like she couldn't use the distraction. All week long Kise had been texting her. And Mira had been ignoring each and every one. They were basic texts. How are you doing? Are you okay? Can we talk? Mira knew it was cowardly, avoiding him like she was doing. But the images of Kise and Yuri kept popping into her head and it only brought back all those crushing feelings again. Maybe a night out is what she needed.

"Here." Mira snapped out of her daze when Himuro pushed a crepe right up to her face.

"Thanks Tatsuya." She smiled softly before nibbling on the treat.

"Are you okay?" Himuro asked gently. Of course, he would know something was on her mind. Asides from her friends, he knew how to read her best.

"Yeah. I just have a lot on my mind. So much has happened so quickly. I'm still trying to take it all in I guess." Mira shrugged her shoulders. There was no point in lying to Himuro. He'd figure it out eventually.

"I'm partially to blame for that. I'm sorry for springing my confession on to you so suddenly like that. But my feelings are genuine Mira. That, I can promise you." He gently placed his free hand on her shoulder.

"I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that one as well." Mira laughed weakly. "Tatsuya…"

"I know. It's been over a year or so and you probably don't feel the same anymore. But just give this a chance okay? If you don't feel the same after our date then I won't pressure you into anything else. I promise." He gave her that stunning charmer smile that was so infectious it made her smile as well.

"Okay. Deal." Mira nodded happily before taking a huge bite of her crepe.

Doing as she'd promised, Mira tried to enjoy the date. The two went to the movies and laughed at the poorly done horror flick that left most of the audience terrified. They headed to the arcade to play games together, their competiveness naturally rising up as they fought for the top score on all the games. They even ended the evening with a small dinner at an outdoor café where Mira was allowed to rest her ankle with ice on it. It was throbbing a tad after all the walking they'd done that day. Himuro had offered to pay for a cab to take her home, but Mira had waved the thought away. All in all it had been a good day. Mira had enjoyed herself with Himuro. She was reminded of why she'd been attracted to him to begin with. But something had felt off all day. And Mira was pretty sure she knew what.

"Mira? Are you okay?" Himuro asked as they stood out front of her apartment building.

"Tatsuya…..I'm sorry." She hung her head, a little afraid of the expression on his face. "Today was great! Really….I just feel like something is missing."

"I see. I had a feeling you seemed distracted." He smiled softly before leading her to the nearby square planters so that they could sit.

"I just don't feel the same for you as I did back then. Or rather, I can't think about anyone but him at the moment. It's not fair to you when I can't honestly respond to your feelings when I'm not even sure of my own. I know I like Kise. That much is clear. Until I sort out just how deep these feelings are…." Mira shrugged her shoulders in defeat. She felt a feather light touch on her ear as Himuro brushed a loose strand back into place. She glanced up to see Himuro giving her the same tender look he always did.

"I understand. And I appreciate your honesty." He smiled softly. "Yes, I like you and I will always care for you. I want you to be happy. I know I could make you happy. But like I said earlier today, I won't pressure you into anything. If you need me as a friend for now, then a friend I will stay. If you want something more later on, all you need to do is say so. My feelings for you won't change no matter what."

"Tatsuya…." Mira wrapped her arms around his neck and couldn't help the few tears that sprang forth from her eyes. What had she done to deserve someone like him in her life? Mira sniffled lightly as she looked up at him with an awkward smile on her face.

"Come on. Let's get you upstairs before Taiga has my head for keeping you out too late." Himuro laughed as he knelt down in front of her.

"It's you. You're the only one asides from my friends he wouldn't kill for keeping me out so late." Mira giggled as she climbed on. "Thank you."

Himuro smiled to himself when he felt Mira rest her head on his shoulder. He'd known when he'd confessed that it would take Mira time to decide. As the saying goes though, one must strike while the iron is hot. Kise had already messed up twice now. Himuro's presence was now bigger in her mind. He may've let her go once before, but not this time. This time he was going to fight for the girl he cared for. If Mira didn't choose him after it all that would be okay with him. But Himuro would be damned if he just rolled over for someone who he thought didn't deserve her.

* * *

Finally! I was in the middle of fieldwork for the past few weeks and couldn't do anything! Gah! It feels good to knock out a chapter again.

So in this one Mira went on her first ever date. *gasp* I know shocking huh? I did make mention of a small love triangle happening, but fear not faithful shippers! This story is far from done! Seriously, I have at least another ten chapters minimum planned for our favorite red head. For now I can't wait to hear what my lovelies have to say! Enjoy!


	11. Ch 11 Reconciliation

Apologies for the long wait! Or at least what feels like a long wait. The semester is winding down so I've been in crunch mode lately and I'm not even gonna lie...I completely forgot I had this chapter ready to upload. My bad...

Anyways! Hopefully this shouldn't happen again but no promises lol. For now enjoy!

~*Reconciliation*~

"The doctor said I'm fine Jason." Mira griped as she glared up at her best friend.

"You're not stepping on to that court until you get your damn ankle taped. That's final." Jason growled back.

The two were an odd pairing walking side by side down the street. Jason looked like a punk who screamed nothing but bad trouble from all the piercings on his face, but Mira was the one who gave off the untouchable aura. It had been a week since Mira's injury. The doctor had finally cleared her, saying there was no damage in her ankle and that she could return to practice. Which is why Jason had taken her to the doctor's while the others had opted to meet them at the gym later on. After Malacai had let Mira a couple nights ago, Jason had banned anyone but him from watching Mira. The others knew the two would need a chance to cool down. They were in no hurry to interrupt their alone time.

"So, how'd the date go?" Jason finally broke the silence as they turned the corner and made their way to the sports complex.

"It was fun." Mira grunted back as she signed them in and rented out a ball.

"But?" The red head glanced over her shoulder to see Jason's piercing blue eyes on her.

"But until I sort out the mess in my head, I told Tatsuya I couldn't honestly respond to his feelings. That's all." Mira fessed up.

"And he's the one who originally broke your heart right?" Jason asked as they headed down the hallway.

"Yeah. I can understand why he did what he did back then. It's all just so confusing." Mira groaned loudly as she bumped into Jason. Resting her head against his muscly arm.

"Well, whatever you decide I'll back you on it. Only if I think it's a fool's errand will I stop you. I got your back no matter what though." Jason glanced down at Mira whose violet orbs were locked on him.

"Thanks. I just wish things weren't so complicated. I swear I hate being a female sometimes." Mira sighed dramatically before pushing herself off Jason and turning to head towards the gym entrance.

"Stop it! Let me go!" Mira's eyes widened when she recognized that voice.

She didn't know what compelled her to head down the hallway, but she ran towards another door. Mira slammed the door to the gymnastics room open to see Yuri struggling with two boys that had dark looks on their faces. She took the ball from Jason and chunked it hard at one of them. The boy let go and turned around, only to be met with Jason's fist in his face. The other guy turned to hit Jason, but had his nose broken by an upper cut by Mira. Yuri fell to the ground behind the two as the guys sat on the ground looking up at them.

"Takeshita-chan are you okay?" Mira asked without taking her eyes off the guys.

"I-I'm fine. Thank you." She said in a shaky voice.

"Who said you could butt in?" One of the guys shouted as Jason squared up to his full height. Both back off in fear upon seeing the huge boy before them.

"You just assaulted us buddy. You wouldn't want us to call the cops now huh?" the other threatened. Clearly trying to bluff his way out of a beating.

"Call an ambulance while you're at it." Jason cracked his knuckles threateningly at the two who froze up upon seeing he wasn't going to back down.

"That's if they can reach their phones before I snap their wrists." Mira warned in that deathly cold tone of hers. The two froze where they stood as Mira stepped up, looking from one to the other to show that she wasn't making idle threats. She meant business. "Leave. Now."

The two scoffed in disgust before heading out of there. Jason glanced down at Mira once the two were gone to see her look back at Yuri. It had been quite some time since the two females had been in the same vicinity of each other. He was interested to see how things would play out. The red head grunted in annoyance before walking over to Yuri. She lightly tapped the older girl and motioned to her stuff. Yuri slowly made her way towards her gear and pulled her sweats and sandals on before turning back to Mira. She motioned for Yuri to follow as the three of them headed into the basketball gym together.

"Knowing those types of guys, they'll be waiting around for you. Just stay here with us for now." Mira said as she took her jacket off and placed her bag down. Yuri moved to sit next to the girl as she changed her shoes.

"I'm going to get you some ice for later." Jason said after looking to Yuri. He could see that she had something that she wished to say to Mira. He would give the two sometime alone before returning. The punk just hoped that Yuri didn't piss Mira off too badly this time. He didn't think he'd exactly be up for 'trying' to stop Mira from getting revenge.

"I'm so sorry!" Yuri finally spat out after a few minutes of silence. Mira briefly glanced up before moving to put her other shoe on. "Yamato-san said that Kise-kun and I hurt you deeply. I need to clear the air for his sake. I know now what I did in the beginning was wrong and I don't want this misunderstanding to ruin what you two have."

"Does it have to do with those guys and why you flipped out on me when we first met?" Mira asked once she had her court shoes on.

"It does…..You were right. I was hurt by someone I once trusted." Yuri took a deep breath before finally telling her tale. "Back at my old school I was in the gymnastics club. I wasn't exactly very good till recently. My captain spent a lot of extra time working with me on my technique. I was happy to be of use to the team finally. We started placing better in competitions and I started doing better overall. I even won gold a few times. The better I did, the more time I spent with my captain. It made me happy to be noticed by him. To be of use to someone who was so great at what he did. I started to fall for him. My feelings grew as the year passed. It was during a big competition that I found out my teammates weren't too happy with how fast I'd grown and how close I was with the captain. I felt like I was losing my confidence, so I went to my captain to have him clear the air. He only laughed in my face and said he was using me. He'd known about my feelings and had played me for a fool. He told the others on the team he only wanted results. He could care less about me. He even said the others could play with me and he wouldn't bat an eye. I ran out that day and caused my team to lose. I was bullied, beaten, and threatened. I couldn't stay at my school anymore. I met Kise at an amateur modeling competition around that time. He gave me the idea to transfer schools and enroll at Kaijo. West-chan, I can't apologize enough for how I treated you in the beginning…..I just saw my past self in Kise and the others when I saw how they looked at you. I got scared history would repeat itself. I know now that isn't the case." Yuri fell silent once more as she stared at her hands in her lap.

"Kise told you didn't he?" Mira called out as she picked the ball up and began dribbling.

"He told me a little about what happened to you." Yuri said softly, watching the girl who refused to look her way.

"The first step to getting stronger comes with openly acknowledging where you went wrong. From there you can grow." Mira shot beautifully from the three point line and made the basket with ease.

"Can you ever forgive me?" Yuri finally looked up to see Mira walking towards the still ball.

"Fear and anger make us do some crazy things. The fact that you admitted you were wrong is enough for me. So, Kise was only protecting you then?" Mira said the last part more to herself as she dribbled between her legs while walking around the court.

"Yes. Something similar happened like what you just helped me with. And at the festival, I was looking for you to apologize." Yuri stood up and walked over to Mira who shot again. She retrieved the ball for the girl and passed it back. "Please don't be mad at Kise-kun. He cares for you very much. He was torn up all week when you wouldn't speak to him."

"I'm not mad per say. Annoyed would be a better way to describe it." Mira shot again as Yuri got her rebound.

"How come you won't respond to him then?" Yuri asked, passing the ball back to the red head. Mira dribbled the ball for a bit before deciding she may as well tell someone about what had been on her mind.

"My first love confessed his feelings for me that same night. And I agreed to go on a date with him. But I have feelings for Kise. As for how deep those feelings are, I don't know." Mira shot from the free throw line as Yuri's eyes widened in surprise. "And you could say that I don't exactly have confidence in the romance department. When I saw you two together….."

"Oh….I see." Even the usually cool and confident Mira had the normal female problems. "Well, you're the one who taught me that honesty is the best policy. Don't hold anything back."

"On the court that's easy. Off the court…" Mira glanced off to the side with a frustrated look on her face. "Ow!"

A sharp pain ran up Mira's leg. She glanced down to her ankle in annoyance. While she was technically cleared, she'd need to have it taped up and in a brace in order to play like she used to. At least for a few weeks. Running to Yuri's aid earlier hadn't helped it any either. Mira clicked her tongue as she figured she shouldn't put any more weight on it now. She glanced to Yuri before shrugging her shoulders and heading back to her gear.

"Hey, you were practicing earlier right? Care if I come watch?" Mira asked, surprising Yuri whose jaw dropped open. Knowing what she knew now, Mira couldn't bring herself to hate Yuri anymore. If anything, the two were kindred spirits. So why not attempt to patch things up between them?

"S-Sure!" Yuri's face broke into a wide grin as she eagerly gathered up their stuff and led Mira back to the gymnastics room.

_._._

Jason was very seriously considering slugging the three idiots behind him. Mainly because they were annoying the crap out of him. Yes he knew he'd messed up in letting Mira get involved with those two guys. But Jason knew better than anyone to try and stop Mira when she was pissed off. It was like asking for a trip to the hospital yourself. So, unless Jason absolutely had to….there was no way he was risking putting himself in her cross hairs. Especially since he didn't already care much for the reason of his friend's turmoil to begin with.

"It's a good thing we brought the tape Chance." Chase chortled from behind Jason.

"Yeah. Someone has to take care of Mira after all. If we left her to brutes, our poor girl would never get better Chase." Chance smarted off. The twin snickered together as Jason's irritation only grew.

"She just got released and you already let her get into a fight? You're slipping Jason." Malacai tacked on. It wasn't often the three got to tease Jason. They were going to take full advantage of it.

Figuring he could spare three cubes, Jason quickly stuck his hand into the bag and chunked them at the three. Somehow, he managed to smack them all in the face. Rather hard at that. Satisfied that they were now silent, Jason peeked into the gym only to see that Mira wasn't there. Before the three could pick up their taunting again he turned and headed for the gymnastics room. The minute he opened the door music met his ears as his eyes were drawn to the balance bar where Yuri was.

The silver haired girl was a natural. She moved with grace and beauty. There was no hesitation in her routine which only added to its appeal. Yuri was smiling softly as she performed a few spins before launching herself backwards into a slow motion hand stand. She performed a few more moves before moving into a dismount. Yuri launched herself high into the air, spinning incredibly fast before landing with only a small misstep to end the routine.

"Don't let your knees give too much when you land. Otherwise not bad." Mira praised from where she sat with her ankle propped up.

"I had the same problem on my floor routine too huh?" Yuri asked as she walked over. Mira tossed a water to the girl who barely managed to catch it.

"You're putting too much power forward instead of up. Give yourself more air and a chance to right your body. I may not know the technical shit to all this, but parkour has the same basic body control mechanics." Mira grinned.

"Legs are lacking, arms flail around a bit too much, and your core could stand to be strengthened a bit as well." Malacai called out. The two girls turned to see the four boys all moving to where they were.

"Hey! You're the resident parkour expert. I know it's not exactly the same, but can you give her some pointers?" Mira motioned to Yuri with her head, surprising both her and the guys.

"Sure…." Malacai motioned for Yuri to follow him as the twins trailed after them. They didn't want to push their luck around Jason anymore.

Yuri glanced over her shoulder to see Jason tending to Mira as he placed the ice on her now raised up ankle. The two were already engaged in a somewhat heated argument before Jason threw his hands up in defeat. This caused Mira to laugh, a sound the guys hadn't heard in quite some time. Yuri faced back forward as a familiar thought came to mind. Just how had Mira and Jason come to be friends? The two didn't seem like they'd run in the same social circles, let alone cross paths. Yuri opened her mouth to ask, but closed it immediately. Mira had just forgiven her. She didn't want to make the red head mad again.

"Don't worry. We all know they're an oddball pairing." Chase spoke up, surprising Yuri.

"We thought the same thing when we first started hanging around Mira ourselves." Chance added as they came to a stop near the area meant for floor exercises.

"How did they become friends?" Yuri decided to ask since the boys were okay talking about it.

"Those two became friends sometime in middle school. Believe it or not, they couldn't stand each other at first. But Mira saved Jason's life. So he's dedicated his to her." Malacai spoke up as he checked out the floor and kicked off his shoes in the process.

"West-chan did something to really help out Yamato-san?" Yuri asked, glancing back to the laughing best friends again.

"No. She literally saved his life." Chase said softly as his eyes darkened a bit.

"Those tattoos on his wrists are for more than decoration." Chance glanced over to Jason who was just pushing his long sleeves up.

Yuri's eyes widened when she saw two half sleeves on his forearms. From where she stood she couldn't tell what they were, but they were extensive and filled with quite a bit of detail. All she could make out was that the tattoos were of two figures. Jason normally wore long sleeves anytime Yuri had seen him. And any time she'd caught Jason messing around with Mira or Kise after school in the basketball gym, he'd always wore shooter sleeves similar to Mira's, but on both arms. Now she saw why. His piercings were already off putting as it was. Tattoos on a high school student were a big marker as a trouble maker. Yuri knew better of course. Jason always placed in the top during exams. The boy never failed to answer correctly when called on in class. Despite his looks he was a good person. And she'd seen first hand that his loyalty knew no bounds. If Mira had really saved his life like the others had said, Yuri could see why Jason looked at Mira with undying devotion.

"Come on. Let's go ahead and work on your routine. I'm not sure how much help I can be, but we'll see." Malacai flashed Yuri a confident grin as she turned back to what she was doing.

* * *

See all! Yuri isn't such a bad girl now is she? Even though she wasn't traumatized like Mira, she was just trying to do what she thought was right. Going about it the wrong way but nonetheless. And now that the air is cleared things will be better between Mira and Kise right? Hehehe...

I know this chapter was a tad short but trust me the next one is already in the works and I have plans to make it a bit longer than usual. For now I can't wait to see what you all thought!


	12. Ch 12 Feelings True

Alright a little longer than usual but I think you all will thank me for it later. School is almost done for the semester so hopefully during the break I can get a two for one chapter special up next time around. For now enjoy!

~*Feelings True*~

Yuri groaned to herself as she did her best to hide how sore her body currently was. She was suddenly glad for the slight chill of the water around her waist. She'd forgotten just how out of shape she really was. While Malacai didn't have any formal training in gymnastics, he had excellent body control. Mira hadn't been lying when she'd said he was a parkour expert. His sharp eyes had been able to pick apart her sloppy routine and help to fine tune it. He wasn't nearly as flexible as Yuri, but the two were able to work relatively well together despite it only being their second meeting. After working for a couple of hours they'd called it quits. Yuri was currently debating on whether she should ask Mira if they could help her out again.

'It seems I'm not the only one who has Mira on the brain.' Yuri though to herself from where she watched Kise during his own shoot.

The two had a beach wear shoot today. The girls would take their turn in the water first before the guys. Which was probably a good thing because the camera man was eating up Kise's brooding look at the moment. Yuri could tell by that look alone that Mira hadn't cleared the air between them. Mira had asked Yuri to keep quiet and give her a few more days of silence before she talked to Kise. Yuri didn't think waiting the weekend out would be good for them, but she wouldn't anger Mira again now that the red head was actually on good terms with her. Not like it was her place to pry anyways. The guys had hinted that this weekend was a special time for them. Especially for Mira and Jason.

"Alright Takeshita-chan you're all done!" The girl waded out of the water and relaxed on the warm beach towel as she waited for the others to finish their shoots so that they could all be released.

"Poor Kise-kun…." Yuri whispered once the guys were done for the day. The shoot was a two part series. The rest would take place at night. "Hey, are you doing okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Kise said weakly. He took a seat next to Yuri as that lost look claimed his beautiful face once more.

"You're thinking about West-chan aren't you?" Yuri asked softly, placing a hand on Kise's shoulder.

"I just wish she would talk to me." Kise mumbled somberly. Clearly the boy was torn up over the lasting silence between the two. Yuri had never seen Kise so dejected before. Even though she knew it wasn't her place to say anything, she couldn't bear to see Kise suffer. She could at least throw him a bone.

"Chance you idiot! Go get the damn ball!" Yuri's head snapped up upon hearing that voice. It belonged one of the sneaky twins always around Mira.

"Oh shut the hell up! You're just mad cause Jason spiked the damn ball in your face!" Chance's voice called back.

Yuri wasn't the only one who heard the familiar voices. Kise weakly looked up to see the twins glaring at each other as Chance carried a volleyball in his arms. Standing near a net was Jason with a slightly amused look on his face with Malacai covering his face. Laughter came from the red head sitting on the ground currently holding her sides from laughing so hard. It was Mira.

Anger shot through Kise as he watched the Americans all carry on together at the volleyball court they were currently using. Mira was supposed to be at home recovering from an injury. It's why she couldn't speak to Kise all week long right? So why was she at the beach having fun? Why was she smiling and laughing like she didn't have a care in the world? Kise gritted his teeth as he watched the group mess around together. Mira just watched with amused eyes from the sidelines while the guys continued their game.

"Am I that replaceable?" Kise growled to himself before looking away from the scene before him. He couldn't stand to watch it any longer. Not with the way his chest hurt and how his stomach was turning.

"Alright everyone that's it for now! The designer said you can keep the suits you have on now and can go enjoy the beach until tonight!" The director called out. The models dispersed as Yuri stood up to try and clear the air now.

"Kise-kun, West-chan is just—" Kise didn't hear Yuri. The minute he was released from his duties he had decided he'd had enough.

Kise removed the jacket he'd been wearing at the moment and decided to draw as much attention to himself as possible. Naturally girls stared, guys glared, and all attention was on Kise as he strode across to where Mira and her group were. Mira was the first to notice the sparkly boy. She heard the whispers that drew her attention to him. This was the first time Mira had really seen Kise shirtless. He had a finely tuned body that any girl would want to get their hands on. He was thin, thinner than Kagami or Aomine, but there was just enough muscle tone to even it all out and give him that streamlined look. His body was perfectly proportioned to itself so that he looked almost perfect physically wise.

"I hate how that guy always look good." Malacai grunted in distaste. Compared to Kise who was wearing designer board shorts, the guys had opted for basic ones they'd found at the store this morning. Malacai was sporting orange and white ones.

"So that's how the others feel looking at us." Chase muttered while Chance nodded in agreement. They were in dark blue shorts with yellow accents with the other twin sporting the opposite colors and dominating.

"Mira?" Jason, who kept it simple with grey shorts, glanced down at Mira who knew exactly what Jason was hinting at. The look in Kise's eyes.

"West-chan! Guys! Fancy seeing you here!" Yuri quickly caught up to the group. She shot Mira an apologetic look, hoping the red head knew that she didn't plan this. Yuri was still in the sexy floral one piece from earlier.

"Yes. It is fancy seeing you here. Shouldn't you be at home resting Mira?" Kise ignored the others, training his gaze specifically on Mira who didn't back down.

"I was released yesterday. I'm just here enjoying the day with the guys." Mira lifted her ankle to show that it was in a brace that was currently covered in sand.

"Oh West-chan, that's a cute swim suit you're wearing!" Yuri desperately tried to change the topic by bringing up Mira's black and white combo. She was wearing a white halter top with black outlining and she assumed the bottoms matched since Mira was wearing small cotton shorts over them.

"Care to speak your mind Kise?" Mira motioned towards the boy with her chin. Yuri felt like she wanted to fall over. The topic she was so desperately trying to avoid is the one they insisted on going back to.

"The injured are supposed to be resting. Not out running around with various guys." Kise hissed. Mira's composure didn't change. She knew Jason had made mention to Kise about her date with Himuro. That, coupled with her ignoring him, was bound to rile the boy up.

"I told you I'm not. And today is special anyways." Mira glanced back to Jason who kept his gaze on Kise. He was watching for any signs of hostility towards his friend.

"Apparently, the whole week was since you couldn't be bothered to reply to any of my messages." Kise snapped. The other three gritted their teeth, but Jason and Mira remained calm.

"Kise I know you're pissed. I promise to come clean. Just not now." Mira hoped he could hear the truth behind her voice as she resisted the urge to reach out to him. She was afraid the minute she did, and he smarted off, she would slug him hard.

"Why not now?" Kise demanded. "Why can't you just be honest? You don't have problem telling it like it is with everyone else? Why just me?"

"Kise—"

"No Mira." Jason stepped up and put Mira behind him. "You don't owe this hypocrite anything."

"What was that?!" Kise growled. If the boy had been thinking rationally, he'd know he didn't stand a chance against Jason. But all sense of rationality had gone out the window the minute he'd let his anger take over.

"You heard me. You're so hard pressed to get answers from Mira, when you've been stringing her along yourself. It ends. Now." Jason snarled, his hands curling into fists. It was only four inches, but those extra inches made Jason seem that much more intimidating when Kise was face to face with him.

"Alright, both of you knock it off!" Malacai called out, pushing the two apart. "Clearly you both got a beef with each other. So, let's settle this. There's a court not too far from here. One on one. First to ten wins. Loser puts himself at the mercy of the winner the rest of the day. Understood?"

Neither Kise or Jason were about to back down. Both nodded in agreement as the boys stormed off to the court. Yuri looked to Mira, the panic clear on her face. All Mira could do was shake her head. As much as she didn't want to watch this testosterone fueled competition, she knew she had to allow. Mainly to keep Jason from overdoing it against Kise. While the blond was used to her hits, Jason was a different story. The punk didn't know how to hold back very well. Especially when he was pissed off. Mira remembered the last time Kise faced Jason. She didn't want the incident to repeat itself.

Kise grabbed his spare clothes and headed back to the agreed court. Malacai had a whistle ready around his neck and a ball under his arm. Jason looked primed and ready to play. His shirt lay discarded on the ground near where the girls were sitting on the outside of the court. The guy was tall, almost as wide as Kagami, and pure muscle. The black ink on his arms stood out in contrast against his pale skin. Combine that with those pale blue eyes and piercings coating his face…the guy was intimidating.

"Jason, yellow only. Keep the damage to a minimum." Mira called out from where she sat with an apathetic look on her face.

To be honest, she didn't want anything to do with this match. She wished Kise would just trust her and give her this day. Not that she'd made it easy for him by ignoring him. But she had to admit Jason had a point. If what Yuri had told her was true, then Kise was just as guilty as her for not speaking up. But that wasn't the reason she was allowing this match to happen. Mira knew that if she said something to Jason he would stop and walk away no questions asked. Kise was ruining an important day. Which is precisely why Mira was allowing Jason to go a little crazy during this game. For once, she hoped Kise got the shit stomped out of him.

Malacai tossed the ball up and got out of the way quickly. Jason wasted no time in winning the jump and sticking a shoulder into Kise. It wasn't hard enough to knock him down, but it was enough to get his attention. Jason wasn't going to play overly rough like the first time he'd face Kise. But he wasn't going to be nice to the boy either. The punk took the ball up for a hard dunk as the game began. This match was all about teaching a lesson to the ignorant blond before him.

By now Kise had learned to expect some rough play. It was how Mira usually faced off against him. Facing off against someone his own size though that played like Mira however….that was a different story entirely. Jason wasn't as fast as Mira, but he was much stronger. His hits hurt a lot more. But Kise knew Jason was taking it easy on him. He'd faced him full out before. And the fact that he was going easy on Kise and letting things be so close was irritating him. By now his anger was boiling over. At Mira, at Jason, and even at Yuri who looked like she'd known something but was holding out on Kise. What happened next was unexpected for all of them. Kise rebounded the ball and turned hard. He ducked his shoulder into Jason and knocked the boy flat on his ass. To add insult to injury, Kise waited for Jason to turn and look at him before busting a three and holding the pose. A swishing sound could be heard as the basket was sunk.

"Mira. He initiated it." Jason called out, chuckling darkly as he retrieved the ball.

"Fine. Green light his ass. I'm not responsible for what happens after this. I'm going for shaved ice." Mira called out as she got up and walked away. She didn't need to stick around to know what was going to happen.

"Mira! Me too!" Chance called out, rushing after the girl.

"Don't forget to bring back some for us!" Chase hollered at the two. He opted to watch and see how things would play out.

"Just don't damage his face. We still have a shoot after this…" Yuri whined. She knew she was going to hear it later for allowing Kise to pick a fight with someone like Jason. But she didn't wish to risk breaking the two up at the moment. If Mira saw it fit to let them fight it out, then she was going to stay out of it.

"I've been looking forward to this day." Kise smirked as he took up defense.

"You're going to regret it too." Jason hissed before initiating his attack once more.

_._._

Yuri shot Kise a look of annoyance as the two were currently walking back from the beach. After receiving a thorough ass chewing by the shoot director, they'd been allowed to head home for the night. Only the two weren't going home. They were heading to the inn that the Americans were staying at. Once Jason had stopped holding back, Kise hadn't been able to keep up. It was a slug fest. One that Kise couldn't win. The only small grace he'd been granted was that Jason had left his face alone. After his trouncing, Jason had demanded Kise hand over all the cash in his wallet. Mercy of the winner and all. Oh, and they'd been invited (Kise ordered) to join them later on that evening. Which is why the two were currently trudging across the sand and towards the inn.

"You just had to pick a fight didn't you?" Yuri finally broke her silence as they climbed the wooden stairs towards the inn. "You're lucky we were in regular clothes for the shoot tonight."

"You knew they were here and didn't say anything." Kise snapped back. It wasn't often the boy was in a foul mood. So when he did get snappish, Kise didn't hold back.

"I knew West-chan wanted the weekend before speaking to you. Which she was going to do. All I know is that this weekend is special to her." Yuri's voice grew soft as the two came to a stop outside the doors.

"Special?" This piqued his interest as Kise stopped sulking long enough to look at Yuri.

"She almost sounded like she was begging me to not say anything to you. All I know is that she made her request, and then looked to Yamato-san. Almost as if she was recalling something awful, yet wonderful as well." Yuri wasn't quite sure how to put it into words. All she'd known was that she couldn't deny Mira that simple request after seeing her face.

Kise pondered on Yuri's words as the two entered the inn and headed to the specified room. Loud laughter met them halfway down the hallway and only grew once they reached the door. Yuri knocked as loud footsteps made their way towards the door. It was flung wide open as the stench of alcohol hit the two hard.

"Hey! They made it!" Chance chortled, grabbing the two and pulling them inside.

"About damn time! You two need to catch up damnit!" Mira called out from where she was swinging her bottle around.

"This is what they did with all my money today?" Kise felt like he wanted to fall over.

"Come on! It's a party! Let's cut loose and have some fun!" Chance hollered as he downed his drink and tossed it towards the growing pile of cans and bottles.

"That's an order blondie." Jason called out from where he sat with his arm slung around Mira.

Kise gritted his teeth before grabbing a can and chugging it. This got him cheers of appreciation as he reached for another one, taking it much slower this time. Yuri grabbed for a bottle, but wasn't too sure about drinking after all that had happened today. Mira on the other hand didn't want her to miss out. The older girl was soon drug off to another area to take shots with the red head as Kise stood against the wall, staying out of the circle on the ground. Jason followed Mira's example and prepared a couple of shots for the two of them. He motioned for Kise to take it with him. Not wanting to be outdone, Kise took the shot as it burned all the way down his throat. He chased the awful shot with his beer, earning him a laugh from the punk.

"Come on. We need to talk now that you're somewhat caught up." Jason motioned for Kise to follow him outside to the veranda.

"You two better behave or I'll knock the shit out of both of you!" Mira called out from inside.

"I wanna see! I wanna see!" Yuri seconded it. She was already a giggling mess after two shots and half a bottle of beer. The poor girl was a major lightweight.

Outside…

"I thought this was some important weekend for Mira and you. Why do you need to talk to me?" Kise sipped on his beer, staring straight ahead.

"Heh. You're pissed off. That's good. That means Mira means something to you and that I'm making the right choice." Jason grinned as Kise glanced at the boy. "You know, when I first met you I hated your guts."

"You made that blaringly obvious." Even though Kise hurt, it was nothing compared to the first time he and Jason had faced off.

"I thought you had taken my place beside Mira. You were the one who helped to repair the damage we had caused. You were the one who got her to smile again. You were the one who did for her what I couldn't do. What I should've done….like she did for me. That's why I was so angry. But I see now that 'this' and 'that' are entirely different. You're not taking my place. If anything, you're stepping up and filling the hole that Alexander tore out of her. You are someone important to her. Which is why you need to show her." Jason turned towards Kise who had picked up on a key bit of information.

"What did Mira do for you that you couldn't do for her?" Kise had an idea, but he needed Jason to voice it. Jason smirked before lifting his arms up and into the light that was coming from inside. He held them together in order for the full picture to be seen.

Two black and white tattoo sleeves covered half of his arms. On one side it showed a broken man with tattered demon wings. His body was beaten, battered, and it looked like it took all he had to keep himself on his knees. On his face was a worn and tired look, but there was something else there. Hope. Hope filled his eyes as an angel reached out and held his face. Her wings were spread wide as her light shined on to him. Saving him. But as Kise looked closer, he saw what Jason really wanted to show him. Faded scars. A few still stuck up out of the skin from the jagged way they'd healed.

"She saved me." Jason said softly as he began his tale. "It happened four years ago. I'd just transferred to a new school. I'd been in foster care most of my life. My mother was a crack whore who didn't give a shit about me. I was angry all the time and got tired of the fake smiles around me. I bumped into Mira that day. I hadn't even noticed till she turned and slammed me into the lockers. Chewed me out good too. That's what got me interested in her. Alexander did his best to keep us apart, but somehow or another we always ended up in fights. So, imagine my surprise when she jumped in to save me when four guys tried to gang up on me. After that we stopped being as hostile to each other. She even invited me to join her and Alexander. Things were good for a time….Then my mother came back into the picture. Claimed she was clean and wanted to get custody of me back. The week I was back with her she beat the shit out of me and used the money from the state to get high. I snapped. I couldn't take going back to that life. To risk being uprooted and moved to another place only to lose what I'd just gained. I didn't go to school one morning. Lifted some razor blades from a store and headed back home. I slit my wrists and waited to die."

Jason leaned against the building drinking his beer like it was nothing. He was no fool. He knew the look on Kise's face. Shock, horror, confusion as to why he was being told all this. Kise needed to know how his and Mira's relationship worked. Jason needed him to know that Mira wasn't just his best friend, but his savior. To understand why Jason had gone off when he'd believed Kise had replaced him by Mira's side. That there was a reason he would do anything for the girl that he believed was in her best interest. Kise needed to know that Jason didn't see Mira in a romantic light. But more as the one whom he deemed the most important person in the world. And how she'd come to earn that spot.

"I don't know what had possessed Mira to sneak into my house that night, but she found me in the tub. I could barely see her as she struggled to pull me out and get me on the floor. She used my belts as tourniquets on both my arms and used my shirts to wrap my wrists before calling out to Alexander to call the cops. I remember her holding me before everything went black. Next thing I knew I was waking up in the ICU with Mira sleeping beside my bed. Alexander was the one who told me she refused to leave my side. I bawled like a baby that night. I asked her over and over why she'd try and save someone like me. We cried almost all day after that. If it hadn't been for her….I wouldn't be here now." Jason finished softly. "That was the day I died and was reborn. All because of Mira."

It was then Jason looked to Kise. The blond understood then why this day was so important. Jason's past still haunted him to this day. He could see the punk struggled with his demons to keep them at bay. Mira knew this. Despite how much of a mess things were for her now, she was still prioritizing those close to her first. What she could've easily fixed, Mira had pushed it aside to be there for the one who needed her. Telling Kise that even if her world was in chaos, she would do what she could for those to her. That was the person she was. That was the person Jason wouldn't just hand over to anyone to allow them to break her again.

"Mira doesn't need someone who only has half assed feelings for her. I can tell you're not like that. So don't prove me wrong and hurt her. The day I was saved was the day I swore my life was for Mira to use as she saw fit. I have no problems getting my hands dirty on her behalf." With that, Jason left him sitting there.

Kise got the message loud and clear. Mira would go to great lengths for her friends. He'd only witnessed it himself when she'd fought against Alexander for theirs, and her own, freedom. For once he and Jason were in agreement. Mira needed someone who would do for her as she would for them. Kise ran his fingers through his hair as he turned to look back inside. Mira was laughing and having a good time with everyone there. He pushed himself up and finished off his beer before heading back inside. He grabbed Mira by her wrist and pulled her up. He kept his grip firm and dragged the drunkard behind him and towards the back garden. The others all shared a look as a single thought passed through their minds.

'About damn time.'

_._._

"Hey Kise! What the hell? They're gonna drink everything without us!" Mira protested as she tried to plant her feet and stop him. All she ended up accomplishing though was her stumbling about more.

"Yamato-kun told me about tonight. About what you did for him." Kise finally spoke up once they were far enough away from the inn. Mira stopped fighting then. Her eyes went wide in surprise. It wasn't too often Jason opened up to others about his past. Especially to guys whom he barely tolerated. "I'm sorry for ruining this night."

"Well…to be fair you didn't exactly ruin it. You did buy the alcohol for us." Mira tried to joke as Kise turned around to face her.

"Mira, you don't have to be nice. I fucked up. I know. I led you on. I made you believe in something that caused you a lot of pain. And I'm sorry." Kise said softly. "I know to you, words don't mean anything. But I mean it. I'm truly sorry for hurting you like I did."

He gently reached up to cup her face. Mira just stared up at the boy, unable to believe what he was saying. Even if Yuri had cleared the air a long time ago, Mira still found it hard to believe that someone like Kise was here with her. He was apologizing to her. Why? Why was he trying so hard for her? Mira was the furthest thing from girly. The last person who looked as if she belonged at his side. Compared to someone who was more feminine….Mira just couldn't wrap her mind around it. She broke eye contact with Kise and turned to looked up at the moon shining brightly over the water.

"Why? Why do you continuously do these things for me? Why are you trying so hard for me? I can't be like other girls. I can't do for you like those girls could." Mira gritted her teeth, digging her nails into her hand as she clenched them into fists.

She hated herself for the words coming out of her mouth. She was always a big advocate for loving oneself and all that jazz. But when it came to romance, she greatly tore herself down. Because she'd never been the one being pursued before. The only guy to make her feel truly special had turned on her and broken her in so many ways possible. While it was true she was making great strides to getting back all that she'd lost, Mira didn't know if she was ready to trust anyone as intimately again. She didn't know if she wanted to risk placing her heart in someone's hand again.

"Heh." She heard Kise chuckle softly before feeling his arms wrap around her shoulders. "It's because you're you that I like you."

Kise felt Mira stiffen up under him when he'd spoke those words. But it was true. It was because Mira was different that he was attracted to her. The girl was stubborn, strong, able to do things for herself, had a bit of a vulgar tongue, and didn't try to suck up to him. She was her own person who treated everyone equally. Mira didn't see Kise as a famous basketball player or model. She saw him for who he truly was. She was willing to do for others without asking for anything in return. Mira didn't care what others thought about her. She was her own person, with her own charm. The girl constantly kept him on his feet. Things were never boring with her around. Kise always found himself wanting to know more about the girl.

"You understand my love for basketball. You treat me like anyone else. You keep me on my toes all the time. You're always honest and upfront with me. Even if you can be too blunt at times. But that's what I like about you Mira. I like you. No one but you." Kise tightened his grip on her shoulders and rested his head near hers.

"You know I went on a date with Tatsuya right?" Mira finally spoke up after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes. I was standing next to Yamato when he got the txt that night. I don't know who was more surprised." Kise tried to make light of it, but she could hear the hurt in his voice.

"It was fun, but I don't feel the same for him as I did back when we both lived in the states. For some reason…..I can only think of one guy I wanna be with." Mira's voice grew so soft that Kise could barely believe what he'd heard.

"Mira?" Kise could barely contain the hope building in him as he slid around from her back to her front, hunching down a bit to try and look at her face.

"Don't make me say it! I'm still out here with you aren't I?" Mira snapped as she looked up at him. Her face was as dark as her hair with her violet orbs wide with annoyance.

Kise let out a cry of joy as he picked Mira up and spun her around. In their usual fashion Mira yelled at Kise to put her down while the boy ignored her. This led to Mira whacking Kise over the head till he finally complied and put her down gently. Mira crossed her arms over her body in annoyance and faced away from him, but this didn't deter Kise. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close to him. He didn't even attempt to hide the overly wide grin slapped on his face at the moment as he nuzzled his cheek into Mira's head. Even the red head herself was smiling just a tiny bit as the two stood there enjoying their time together.

"Mira, I want to take you out on a date." Kise finally spoke up, breaking the silence between them.

"One condition…" Mira managed to wiggle out of his arms and face him. "Drink with us tonight. If you can make the night without puking then it's a deal."

There it was. That mischievous smirk that Kise had missed during their week apart. Kise nodded in agreement before kneeling down and allowing Mira to climb on his back. Kise felt her relax on his back as her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Oh if the poor fool only knew….

* * *

I'll let your imagination run wild with that night. And keep it PG! I probably won't do a drunk party night with them since I did one in the first story, but nonetheless I got what I wanted accomplished. Kise finally confessed! I think I fangirled as hard as some of you and I wrote the damn chapter lol.

I've got a few more filler chapters planned before we head off to the Winter Cup. And believe me that's gonna be when the real fun begins. Can't wait to hear what you all think!


	13. Ch 13 Coming Clean

Sorry it took so long everyone! I've been swamped with school and personal life so I had to put all my stories on hold for a short while. I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things and try to get myself back on track. But enough rambling. I hope you all enjoy!

~*Coming Clean*~

Aomine let out what felt like the millionth sigh that day. Why you ask? Because he'd fucked up. Royally. It'd happened a few days ago. They'd had another intense study session at Mira's again. It had been late when they'd finally called it quits. Trying to be a nice guy, Aomine had offered to walk Kanika home. He'd even made mention of trying to take Kanika out on a proper date for once. It would seem Kanika hadn't heard anything about the date part since she shut him down almost instantly. The mousy girl had insisted that it was okay for Mira and one of her friends to walk her home. When Aomine had pressed her on the subject, Kanika kept dodging the subject. This only irritated Aomine, so he'd tried to play the guilt card. When he'd brought up the idea of a date again he'd tried to make Kanika feel bad by not telling him where to pick her up. She'd insisted that it was fine and she'd meet him somewhere. The light blush on her face had told him that Kanika was excited, but she was still hiding things from him. What was she hiding from him? Was she embarrassed of him? Did she not want him to meet her family? Was it only okay to hang out in neutral locations that didn't hold that much meaning to either of them? This had led Aomine to blowing up on the girl and storming out before Momoi could catch up. And now the guy felt like shit. Why?

' _I'm sorry…'_ He glanced down at the txt on his phone which caused him to sigh once more. Kanika had nothing to apologize for. Aomine had been the one acting like an ass. And did he know it.

'Shit….never thought this would happen to me.' Aomine smiled humorlessly as he turned the corner. He cared for someone. Actually cared for a girl other than Momoi. Which is why he was currently making his way down the final stretch to Kaijo when he should've still been in class back at Touou. 'I wonder if Kise will take me to the gym so I can talk to her?'

Just as Aomine was entering the school gate, he was clotheslined out of nowhere and knocked on to his ass. Before the boy could realize what was going on, he was being dragged off to some corner. Once Aomine could breathe again he was released from his attacker's grasp. The boy looked up, shooting his best glare at whoever dared to harm him. But it had nothing on the wrath radiating off Mira who stood over him like an animal about to go in for the kill.

"What are you doing here?" Mira hissed lowly, crossing her arms as she struggled not to strangle the guy right then and there.

"I-I came to apologize to Ichinose-chan." Aomine stuttered. He'd never feared for his life. Not even when facing down a pissed off Akashi. For some reason though, Mira was scarier than anything he'd ever faced before and he didn't doubt that she would actually put him in the hospital voluntarily should he cross her.

"Good choice of words. You just bought yourself a few extra minutes of life." Mira grunted as her anger began to subside. "Although I should still beat the shit out of you after what you said to Kanika the other night."

"You heard that?" Aomine picked himself off the ground, keeping a good distance from Mira just in case she changed her mind.

"How could I not? Anyone standing near the door, which was only me since I chased off all the other nosy asses, could've heard you. How can you think that Kanika isn't crazy for you? She goes gaga every time you send her a damn txt message!" The red head had to struggle to stay mad at Aomine. It wasn't every day you got to see the resident bad boy cowering in fear over getting chewed out for his mistake. "Ever since your little stunt at Inter High she has more confidence in herself since you showed her you were growing serious. Even Momoi-san has told us that you've hidden your porn magazines since you two started talking more often."

"Geh!" Aomine wanted to duck his head and hide in a hole. It was that obvious huh? "Ok fine! I like her alright!"

"I'm not the one you should be saying this to now am I?" Mira crossed her arms once more as Aomine stood up straight. "Besides, most of us kinda already knew this."

"I know that I should tell her. I wanted to do something special before it. But how can I do that if I can't even do things properly like picking her up at her house?" Aomine asked in a frustrated tone. Mira couldn't help but smile at the poor boy. Clearly he'd given this a lot of thought and was trying to make an attempt to do things right.

"Since you're serious I don't feel too bad telling you this. Kanika's home life isn't that great." Mira began softly. "Her parents got divorced when she was very young. Her father is almost always away on work, so she lives with her two brothers. Her oldest brother is a lawyer and the youngest is a third year here. Both of them are pieces of work."

"What do you mean?" Aomine could tell by the look on Mira's face that she was upset about Kanika's situation.

"Meaning I can't stand either one. There's a reason I've only been to Kanika's place a handful of times. I won't go into detail since that's Kanika's story to tell. But what I can say is they're the reason she was so shy when you first met. They pretty much beat down her self confidence to where she had turned into a pleaser. She did everything to try and earn her brothers' praise. Now they think she's becoming worthless because she has friends. Not to mention the complex the jackass here has because he thinks Kanika is trying to make him look bad." Mira gritted her teeth in frustration as she dug her nails into her arms. "Long story short, if you really plan on getting serious with her then you have to get Kanika to open up. By showing her you're sincere. And you can start by apologizing. Today."

"Isn't that why I'm here?" Aomine smarted off in his usual tone.

_._._

Kanika was humming to herself as she headed to practice. She went about her duties with a happy smile on her face. The Winter Cup was just around the corner and it would be Kaijo's second run at the national title. With all the kinks and bumps that had happened lately smoothed out, things were looking up for the team. Kanika had to make sure she was keeping up to par with her duties as well. She was going to go over the travel bag to make sure she had everything needed before the tournament started.

"Told you she'd be here." Mira's voice called out from behind Kanika. The raven haired girl turned to see both her best friend and Aomine standing in the doorway.

"A-Aomine-kun?!" Kanika squeaked as she jumped back into the wall.

"You've got ten minutes. Then practice starts." Mira warned Aomine before closing the door behind her to give them some privacy.

The two stood in silence for a long time. Kanika was shocked to see Aomine before her. Last time the two had talked had been a few days ago and he'd stormed off. Kanika had tried to call and apologize, but Aomine had ignored her calls. So she'd settled for a txt message. She'd never expected him to appear before her like he had. Kanika remained plastered against the wall as Aomine grabbed his neck. He'd never really apologized before. Even with all the fights between him and Momoi. The pinkette had always known when Aomine was sorry and never made him vocalize his sincerity. That's how their friendship worked. But with Kanika it was a different story. He couldn't afford to just assume Kanika knew he was sorry by him just standing there. Not if he really wanted to get his feelings across. That…..and he didn't doubt Mira would have his head if he didn't do things properly.

"Ichinose-chan….I'm sorry for the other night." Aomine mumbled softly while looking away from Kanika.

"Huh?" The girl couldn't believe she'd heard him correctly. Aomine was apologizing?

"I said I'm sorry!" Aomine boomed, scaring the girl again as she crouched down covering her head. When he realized his mistake the boy felt that familiar feeling of guilt shoot through him. He walked over and squatted down near the girl, gently peeling her hands off her head as she looked at him. "I'm sorry for the other night. I didn't mean to get so upset."

"Aomine-kun…" Kanika could hardly believe the words coming from his mouth. Knowing this, Aomine gently reached out and pinched her cheek to prove she was awake. "Ow!"

"I'm serious. I didn't mean to get so upset. I just….I wanted to do things right when I officially asked you." Aomine's usually hard face smoothed out for once as he looked into Kanika's crystal blue eyes.

"Asked me what?" The girl didn't want to jump to conclusions, but she couldn't help but hold a hand to her chest to keep her heart from jumping free.

"I want you to be my girlfriend." Aomine said softly with a slightly crooked smile. The smile she only ever saw when he playing the sport he loved.

Kanika couldn't help but gasp as she stared at Aomine. He patiently waited for her to say something as tears began to well up in her eyes. Kanika had known the two had been steadily getting more and more used to each other. But she'd never imagined Aomine would ever ask her to be his girlfriend. She'd always hoped with the way he would grab her hand, act jealous whenever another guy looked at her too long, or if she ignored him for very long. To actually hear the words coming from his mouth though? It left her speechless. All Kanika could do was nod before throwing her arms around Aomine's neck. A happy smile of her own was plastered all over her face as she felt Aomine's arms wrap around her waist. Relief flooded through Aomine as he held the small girl in his arms. He never imagined he'd say the words he had, let alone while he was still in high school. He could hardly believe it was possible to be this happy about something. Let alone someone. A low clicking sound drew the two out of their daze. They turned to see both Mira and Kise looking down at them. And guess who was the one who'd taken the picture?

"Kise….." Aomine growled, pushing himself up and out of Kanika's arms. Irritation shooting through him as the blond began to back away in fear for his life.

"Oh come on Aominecchi! You two looked so cute I had to!" Kise pleaded with the angry panther.

No other words were said as Kise took off with Aomine hot on his tail. Mira smiled to herself watching as Aomine cut Kise off at every turn, threatening to break Kise's wrist if he didn't hand over his phone. Kanika got up and stood near Mira who was leaning against the wall watching the antics of the other two.

"Good news I take it?" Mira smiled to herself as she held her own phone up. On the front screen was the exact moment Kanika and Aomine had looked up at them.

"Mira!" Kanika squeaked as she took the phone and looked at the picture. Contemplating deleting it or not.

"If I were you I'd want to keep it to mark this occasion. Not every day someone confesses to you." Mira looked to her friend who looked like she would start crying again.

"Send it to me please." Kanika whispered softly after handing the phone back.

"Aomine please don't kill Kise. We need him for the Winter Cup." Mira called out as she worked on sending the picture to both Kanika and a peeved Aomine. He would thank her later.

After keeping Aomine from causing too much harm to Kise, and suffering a few catcalls from the rest of Kaijo, Aomine was finally told to shoo so that practice could commence. He spared one last look back at his now girlfriend who had the deepest blush on her face. But she was smiling from ear to ear. That in turn caused Aomine to smile like he'd just won some great prize as he sauntered away.

_._._

Kanika couldn't help but feel like she was on cloud nine for the rest of the night. She found herself giggling every time she recalled what had happened that day. She'd even gone as far as to put the picture Mira had taken as her background on her phone. Kanika took one last look at the photo before putting her phone down on the counter top. It was time to focus on food. Kanika hummed to herself happily as she finished preparing the last bit of dinner.

"All done." She wiped her forehead before looking over the three plates of dinner for the last time. Kanika moved the plates to the dining room where her oldest brother sat. "Aniki, the food is ready."

"Go get Taichi so we can eat." Daisuke didn't even bother looking up from his work before shooeing his sister away. He was still dressed in his nice shirt and tie from the day at the office. Kanika nodded before turning to head off to other brother's room.

Taichi was a third year at Kaijo and did his best to make sure no one knew he and Kanika were related. Not like things were any better with Daisuke. He was so busy with work and making sure their family name remained spotless that he held both to high expectations. To say the least, her relationship with her brothers was strained. She loved them both with all her heart, especially since the three had grown close during the time of their parent's divorce. The minute their father started distancing himself from the kids though is when things began to fall apart. Daisuke pushed himself hard to graduate college early so that he could start working soon. He helped to pay for the tuition of both his younger siblings and was basically head of the house since their father very rarely came home anymore. Due to this, Daisuke expected both his younger siblings to perform at the same level as he had. Kanika did her best in school and her grades had only increased thanks to Mira's help. But Taichi on the other hand….he was constantly compared to his sister in everything she did. This had caused a wedge to be driven between her and her older sibling. This in turn had led to Taichi acting out and any time he got in trouble he blamed Kanika for being such a prude. It always caused a shouting match between brothers, which led to Kanika to try and stop the fights. This is turn led to them both turning on her.

'Maybe things are starting to look up though? After all, a lot of good things have been happening lately. I just have to be like Mira and keep my head up!' Kanika thought to herself as she clenched her hands into fists in front of her chest.

"Taichi? Dinner is ready." Kanika knocked on her brother's door softly and waited for any kind of noise. "Taichi?"

"I heard you the first time." Taichi grunted, yanking his door open and pushing past his sister. He didn't even look back to see that the girl was still stuck on the wall from the force he'd hit her with.

"Both of you knock it off." Daisuke called from the dining room.

Kanika brushed off the incident as she quickly joined her family. Like always, things were silent. It was the usual routine, regardless of whether their father was around or not. Kanika didn't even know why Daisuke still paid for an apartment when he spent most of his time at the house with them. Everyone needed their own little haven though, she supposed. She glanced over to Taichi who kept his head down stuffing his face. Never once did he thank her for the food, but he always seemed to eat faster than anyone else at the table.

"Kanika, I see your grades came up once again. I'm impressed." Daisuke finally broke the silence. The younger siblings both instantly stiffened up. School was a touchy subject for all of them. "Tell me, have you given anymore thought on your career path?"

"I-I'm not sure Aniki. I still have another two years to think about my career." Kanika tried to gently side step this subject. Truthfully, she had already been looking into colleges that offered sports trainer programs. But she knew her brother would never approve of this.

"Tell us **Kanika** ," Taichi sneered at his sister in his usual fashion because he knew this conversation was going to target him eventually. "what have you been thinking about doing? I see a lot of athletic pamphlets in your room. Is it because you want to go to a sports college? Does it have something to do with our school's basketball team making that big tournament? Is it possible you found someone to flirt with on your team?"

"Nee-san that's not true!" Kanika squeaked in denial. If anything, the team had given her something to work for. To better ground her and give her a reason to not just float through life anymore.

"Taichi, hush." Daisuke's tone was firm, but cold. The younger brother gritted his teeth before looking away and pouting like a child. "Is this true Kanika?"

"….Yes Aniki…." Kanika could never go against her brother.

"I told you that I didn't mind you joining a club to help boost your college resume. However, sports programs can only go so far. You can't expect to make a good living with a job in that field. Or with someone who only thinks of sports for that matter. You should be looking into accounting. You're good with numbers. It wouldn't be hard for me to give you a good recommendation to a firm or corporation. Finding a husband then would be easy." Daisuke was already grinning at the idea of this perfect picture for his little sister.

"Yes, perfect little Kanika can do no wrong. Why don't you set up an arranged marriage for her while you're at it since she's the one you're staking the future on." Taichi hissed, shooting a glare at his sister.

"That's not a bad idea." Kanika stiffened up when she saw the look on her oldest brother's face. He was actually considering the idea. "You could learn from her Taichi. Your grades are dropping, you're skipping school, and you haven't even begun to study for entrance exams." Daisuke's cold eyes locked on to Taichi who'd had enough.

"I'm not her! Quit comparing me to that damn goody two shoes!" Taichi slammed his hands on the table, glaring at Kanika as if it was all her fault.

"Nee-san!" Kanika rose from her own seat to chase after him, only stopping when she spotted Daisuke's eyes on her next.

"Taichi that's enough. Kanika, that will be your future should you insist on pursuing this silly basketball club of yours. I will allow you to finish out this tournament, but I expect you to resign once it is done and focus on your studies. That includes staying away from those friends of yours." He spoke in that commanding tone that Kanika couldn't disobey. She even found it hard to move at the moment.

It was then the picture from the Inter High flashed in her mind. The one of all the team standing together. Another image flashed after that. One of her and Mira smiling together. She recalled all the faces of the players she'd met from joining the club. Both from her school and others from all over. And one last face flashed in her mind. The smiling face of the usually hard and chiseled Aomine. Kanika didn't wish to give up any of it. No matter what.

She turned and rushed out after her out of the house, stopping only long enough to get her shoes on before bolting. Kanika had never ran so hard in her life. She could see it in her brother's eyes. He had every intention of trying to make her quit the club once the Winter Cup was over. He was going to make sure she followed the path he wanted her to take. He was going to make her into the ideal little sister. To mold her into what he saw was fit. Not what she wanted.

"Kanika!" Upon hearing her name she turned to see Taichi out of breath not that far from her.

"Nee-san?" This is the first time Taichi had ever chased after her.

Normally he saw her as nothing but a nuisance and wanted nothing to do with her. He always claimed she was too loud, constantly stood her up, and basically despised everything about her since he was always compared to the girl. Was he perhaps feeling sorry for once? Was he trying to console her? They were both prisoners of their older brother's whims. Maybe Taichi was finally able to see Kanika as not a rival and eyesore, but someone whom he had a common enemy with that he should bond with. Just when she thought it was too good to be true as she reached towards her brother, Taichi batted one of her arms away and made a dive for her wallet. He grabbed all the money out of it before tossing the coin purse back to her.

"This is really all you got? Oh well. Better than nothing to kill time with. Maybe you aren't completely useless sis." Taichi snickered, waving the money over his shoulder as he left his sister standing there.

Kanika felt like her heart had been crushed. She was never going to more than a sister by blood. Both brothers despised her. Taichi was tired of being compared to her, Daisuke wanted to control her. Neither of them would ever be the brothers she wanted. The brothers she needed. Her whole body went numb as her mind went into autopilot. She felt her body move down to grab her coin purse before making her turn and head towards the train station. She swiped her card and found a seat on the train. After a short ride she got off and wandered the street for a short time before coming to a stop in front of a building. Kanika climbed the stairs before stopping in front of a door. She pressed the doorbell and just waited patiently.

"Hello? Ichinose-chan?" Kagami was the one who answered the door. All Kanika could do was look at him with that blank stare.

Kagami let the girl by and closed the door behind her before leading her into the living room. Lounging on the couch with ice on her ankle was Mira. She picked her head up, only to see her friend in a zombified state. Mira popped off the couch and rushed to her friend, wrapping her in her arms as Kanika finally came back to life. The girl began to cry as she gripped Mira's shirt tightly. The two of them sank to the ground as Kanika continued to just cry into her friend's chest.

"Taiga, do me a favor and call Aomine. Tell him I said to get here asap." Mira said softly.

"Got it." Kagami may not always be the brightest crayon in the box, but even he could tell when someone was in immense pain. And he knew at the moment, Aomine would be one of the only ones to help Kanika to be able to heal.

* * *

Alright. So like I mentioned before school and life happened. I'm getting down to my last couple of semesters so it's getting to crunch time. I'm not gonna let the story die, but I will however probably take a long while uploading from now on. But that's another story for another time.

Anywhoo...back to what's at hand! I hadn't had a good AominexKanika moment in a long time and I've been wanting to do something to kinda bring my fav side couple back. Let's face it, these two are adorable! And there will be more of them next chapter I promise! For now review and let me know who all's still here!


	14. Ch 14 Finding Courage

~*Finding Courage*~

Aomine was out of breath by the time he'd yanked the door to Kagami's apartment open. He walked inside, his eyes frantically searching for the person behind his panic. Sitting on the couch with Mira's arm wrapped around her was Kanika. The girl was staring out at nothing as she leaned against her friend for support. Mira looked up to see Aomine standing there at a loss as to what to do. Mira gently let Kanika go and motioned that she would be back in a bit. The red head got up and walked over to Aomine as Kagami offered the dazed girl a drink.

"Tonight was her breaking point. Her family is going to try to make her quit the team. They want her to give up anything and anyone related to basketball." Mira explained softly. "If you meant what you said to Kanika, you need to show her tonight. Two of the people who should be closest to her already hurt her. Don't give me a reason to add you to that list."

With that, Mira gave Aomine a gently nudge forward towards the girl. He slowly walked over to her while trying to figure out what to say. A memory from a while back flashed in his mind then. Mira had just tried out her Demon Mode on him and left him beaten on the court. Kanika hadn't said a thing then. She'd just started tending, showing him that she wouldn't leave him during his time of need. Aomine knelt in front of the girl and gently grasped her hand. It was then Kanika looked up. Aomine gave her a soft smile and squeezed her hand gently. It was enough to tell her that he was here. He hadn't confessed to her lightly. He saw her as an important person to him and wanted to be there when Kanika needed him. This sent the raven haired girl into another fit of tears as she fell off the couch and into Aomine who held her softly.

Mira gave the two an approving nod as Aomine consoled the crying girl. She knew Kanika would clue Aomine in eventually once she calmed down. Now that Aomine was here, Mira could take care of business. Her blood was boiling as she thought about how Kanika's family had treated her. She was always striving to become better, to do things to make her family acknowledge her, to make them proud and finally see her for who she was and not some puppet for their amusement. But Mira knew that it wouldn't happen. Not if things stayed as they were now. Mira had only been to Kanika's home a handful of times. She'd seen the old family photos. Kanika was the spitting image of her mother. Both brothers looked like their dad. To have a living embodiment of the woman who'd walked away from them constantly around, their resentment was bound to be projected on to her. Mira knew no matter how hard her friend worked, it would never be enough for any of them. And now Kanika knew it as well.

"A little late to be calling isn't it?" Akashi teased through the phone.

"I'm sorry. But I could use some legal advice…." Mira glanced back at her friend who was now talking to Aomine.

"Has something happened?" Count on Akashi to go from teasing to serious in less than a second.

"Yes. Not with me though. It's with Kanika." Mira smirked to herself as the cogs in her mind began to turn.

In the other room…

Aomine was visibly shaking with anger. He wanted to meet the guys who could treat their own family so callously. His hands curled into fists as he stood up and began pacing back and forth like a caged panther. Kanika had never seen Aomine so angry before. He looked like any little thing could set him off at the moment. Kagami was standing nearby, keeping an eye on the angered boy. This wasn't his first time hearing about Kanika's home situation. Not that it made this situation any easier.

"She told you?" Mira finally spoke up as her phone call ended. It was a rhetorical question to Aomine.

"How? You knew this was going on? And you let it happen?" Aomine snarled at Mira. He visibly flinched upon seeing her own anger flare within her violet orbs.

"I didn't let anything happen. Kanika was the one who insisted on staying there. Believe me, I've already put one of her brother's in a wall at school because he tried to insult Kanika in front of me." Mira hissed as Aomine managed to contain himself. He'd forgotten how scary Mira could be when she was angered. "Kanika was the one who asked me to not do anything. I've told her multiple times she can stay with me here. My room is big enough for both of us. She's the one who wanted to try and make things work with her brother's. There's a reason I'm not welcome at her house. I already assaulted one. The older one is an even bigger piece of shit. Imagine what I'd do to him if I got my hands on him."

"She can't go back there." Aomine turned to look at Kanika who wasn't even sure what she should say right now.

"I agree. Kanika," It was then the girl looked to her best friend who's eyes were firm. "I just spoke with Akashi. I didn't go into specifics, but from what I did ask him there's a good case to get your living arrangements changed at least. You are being abused. Plain and simple."

"But they've never done me any harm! At least….nothing visible." Kanika slowly fell silent again as Mira's eyes flashed in that way that called someone a fool.

"Abuse doesn't have to be physical. It can be emotional and psychological. And you're going through both. You've let them walk on you for too long. It's time to stand up and start making decisions for yourself. Or do you want to continue being their puppet?" Mira asked her friend in that harsh, no nonsense tone.

"Mira...they're my family…." Kanika defended weakly.

"Ichinose-chan look around you." Aomine came back to the girl and helped her stand up. "The two here in this room are your family. They want what's best for you. Family isn't always those of blood. Look at me and Satsuki. Mira and her friends. Your basketball team. Everyone. They're your family."

"Aomine-kun…I don't know if I can." Kanika began tearing up as she leaned into his chest. "I don't know if I'm strong enough."

"That's ok. That's my job as your boyfriend isn't it?" Aomine put on his best smug grin as Kanika looked up at him with wide doe eyes. He reached out and gently wiped her tears away as that smugness faded and a true smile took it's place.

"Wait….You two are together?!" Kagami balked, causing Mira and Kanika to laugh while Aomine just shot him an annoyed look.

_._._

Kanika swallowed hard as she stared at the gate before her home. It was late. Really late. By now her brothers would be in bed and asleep. Pain shot through her chest when she realized that neither of them bothered to even check up on her after she'd left. She looked behind her to see both Mira and Aomine there with her. Both offering their encouragement as they stood there, waiting for Kanika to make a move. The raven haired girl held a hand to her chest as she remembered why she was there.

"No turning back I guess." Kanika smiled brightly as she put her game face on.

"Now that your mind is made up…" Mira chuckled darkly as she pushed on ahead and began madly mashing the doorbell.

"Don't worry." Aomine gripped her hand tightly. The two faced forward as lights turned on and angry yelling could be heard.

"Who in the hell is up at this hour?!" Taichi yelled from the other side of the doorway as he yanked the door open.

"Move." Mira commanded. She was already in full blown demon mode.

The brother stepped aside without thinking as the three made their way in. Kanika headed straight for her room and began packing things. With all the noise Taichi had made, it wouldn't be long till Daisuke came downstairs. Then trouble would really pick up. Mira helped her friend pack like a mad woman while Aomine stood outside the doorway, keeping Taichi out of the way of their plan.

"What the hell is going on? Who are you anyways? And why are you with that red headed bitch?" Taichi hissed as Aomine.

"Care to repeat that to Mira's face?" Aomine smirked, watching the boy visibly shrink back.

"He can say what he wants. We're done here." Mira called out from inside the room.

"What is going on?" A commanding voice called from upstairs.

Aomine recognized that cold, lifeless, commanding tone. It was the one Akashi used to use with the Generation of Miracles. A voice that demanded respect. A voice that would be hard to disobey. Aomine looked back to see Kanika frozen where she stood as Daisuke slowly descended the stairs. Although, he didn't look very intimidating in his striped flannel pajamas. Aomine covered his mouth, struggling hard to hold back his snickers.

"Kanika." Mira nudged her friend lightly who snapped out of her daze. Now was the time to say her piece if she wanted to break this cycle.

"Aniki, Nee-san, I'm leaving." Kanika managed to say without her voice cracking.

"Whatever sleep over you think is so important can wait till tomorrow. Now send your friends off and go to bed." Daisuke said, narrowing his eyes as if to say that was the end of this discussion.

"No." Kanika almost whispered, causing her brother to pause. "No! I'm not going to some sleepover. I'm going to live with Mira! I won't stay here anymore so you can decide how my life goes."

"What was that?" Daisuke turned around and faced his sister squarely. Kanika felt Aomine wrap his fingers around her hand, giving her courage to look her brother in the eye and hold her ground. "You dare defy me? When all I did was look out for your future? You think you know everything now just because some guy is hanging around? What have you been doing? Letting him sniff around your breasts and ass and all of a sudden you've gotten brave? Don't make me laugh. The minute you get out of heat, he'll run off to some other bitch to—argh!"

It had happened in an instant. All anyone heard was the sound of a body being pushed up against a wall and then someone getting hit as well. Aomine had slammed Daisuke into the wall and had his forearm pressed firmly across his throat. Daisuke couldn't believe how strong a kid was, let alone how big he was. As he stared him down eye to eye, he couldn't help but tremble in fear. There was nothing but murder on Aomine's mind at the moment.

"If I didn't think Ichinose-chan would miss you, I would pound your ass into the ground right now." Aomine growled lowly. Annoyance clear as day in his voice since he was being denied his prey.

"You prick!" Having realized what was going on, much too late, Taichi drew an arm back and ran towards Aomine.

Mira let out a sigh of annoyance as she dropped the bag she'd been holding and stuck her foot out. Taichi tripped over her foot as Mira brought the same leg up and back down hard on the boy's back. A favorite move of hers to stop an annoying Kise. But this time Kanika winced in pain for her brother. She'd never seen Mira actually put a lot of force behind her kick until now. Taichi bounced off the wooden floor and lied there whining in pain. He held his nose as blood leaked through his fingers.

"I'm going to say this once. Kanika doesn't wish to stay here anymore as long as you two are abusing her. She will stay with me. If either of you interfere in any way, I already have a damn good lawyer on standby to defend her should we decide to take this to trial. Let me add that he is held on retainer by the Akashi family. The heir to said family is more than happy to pay for all fees as well. You being a lawyer Ichinose-san, I'm sure you're well aware of who I'm talking about." Mira smirked as Aomine let the guy fall to his ass.

"Y-You're lying." Daisuke stuttered. He'd known Mira didn't like either brother very much. She never hid her distaste for either of them during her few visits. But it was out in the open now. Add her to the already dangerous Aomine, he knew the two would hurt both brothers bad. And they would probably enjoy it. Add the fact that she had a very high powered friend backing her, ready to sic his lawyer on them at the drop of the hat. Daisuke knew the lawyer in question very well. He was ruthless and enjoyed tearing down his opponents. There was no way the brothers would win if it came to a trial.

"Call my bluff then." Mira smirked superiorly. "You think we're just some fleeting friends that will forget Kanika the minute we all graduate. You're wrong. Your sister has done more for both of us than you can imagine. If you think we were going to sit by and continue to let this happen, you're dead wrong. But if you want a fight…..you know where I live."

With that, Mira picked up the fallen bag as Aomine walked back over and took the bag Kanika had been holding and slung it over his shoulder.

_._._

Aomine did his best to get settled on the living room floor. Mira heaved a huge sigh while Kagami and Kanika worked together in the kitchen to make them all a light midnight snack after the fiasco that had just gone down. While Kanika gave Kagami play by play, Mira shot Aomine an annoyed 'you owe me' look. She'd been the one to calm his mother, and Momoi, down when the two women couldn't get ahold of the idiot who'd ran out of the house without any kind of an explanation.

"Thanks." Aomine said softly under his breath, a light flush coloring his dark cheeks.

"I should be saying that to you." Mira stretched her legs out in front of her as she sank down a bit into the couch. "You're the one who convinced her to make that stand. I've been nagging her for months." She glanced down at him, only one side of her face visible since she had her hair down at the moment. "Aomine Daiki, I think you're a good person and I like you. But if you hurt my friend intentionally I will kill you and make it look like an accident."

"You have my permission to do so if that ever happens." Aomine looked to the happy smiling girl in the kitchen with Kagami.

"She's changed you huh?" Mira guessed, a light giggle escaping her lips. "Those we tend to let close to us without realizing it always do."

"So tell me, when did you and Kise start dating?" Aomine decided now would be his safest bet to hint at what he'd seen during practice earlier that day.

"Mention it to anyone other than Kanika and I will bring you to the brink of death every chance I get." Mira threatened, her aura spiking dangerously.

"As long as I can harass Kise whenever he decides to bring up us." Aomine motioned with his chin to Kanika, bringing a smile to the red head's lips. He was officially acknowledging himself in a relationship with Kanika.

"Be my guest. He may just annoy the shit out of you with the date planning he's been doing." Mira grinned to herself.

"Ichinose-chan mentioned another?" Aomine asked softly as Mira's face fell.

"Tatsuya…..I don't know to be honest." She stared up at the ceiling as images of both Kise and Himuro flashed in her mind. "All I can do is be true to what I feel right now."

"I'm not sure what help I can be…." Aomine shrugged awkwardly while grabbing the back of his neck.

"Don't worry. And thanks. So….how much you wanna bet Momoi already sent out a mass txt about you and Kanika to anyone who would listen?" Mira spared a pitying glance at Aomine who froze up. He just clicked his phone off for the night. He would deal with the mess in the morning.

"Sorry for the wait!" Kanika beamed, carrying small sandwiches and sliced fruit over while Kagami handled the drinks.

"Cheers to a successful rescue!" Mira perked up as she snatched a cup from Kagami's hand.

"Oi! Mira! That was mine!" Kagami howled, shooting a glare at his cousin who shot him a look. She was practically daring him to try and take it back.

"Ichinose-chan." Aomine motioned for the girl to come over by him. She sat down timidly as Aomine put an arm around her.

On cue he pulled her closer to him just as a brawl broke out between the two cousins. Kanika tried to make a move to stop them, but the firm grip on her shoulder stopped her. She looked up at Aomine who held her gaze. His eyes saying that he would let her go if she wished, but she didn't have to go if she didn't want to. Kanika dropped her gaze and grew brave for once. She snuggled up a bit closer to Aomine. His warmth, his strong body, his musky scent. Kanika could hardly believe the boy sitting next to her was now her boyfriend. That this boy had saved her tonight from the cage her brothers had kept her locked in. She leaned her head on his shoulder as a wide smile broke out across her face.

"You know, I think someone like Ichinose-chan will be good for Ahomine." Kagami noted from where he lied on the ground with his cousin on his back facing the ceiling.

"They'll be good for each other." Mira noted, reaching for the strawberry Kagami held out for her. "So, who do you think will give him the worst teasing? Kise not included since he's a dead give away?"

"My money's on Midorima." Kagami chuckled, already imaging it.

"Murisakibara easily." Mira placed her own prediction as silence fell over the two.

"Bet?" The called out together as they clasped hands, making the other two in the room wonder what had just transpired without their knowledge.

* * *

Sorry everyone! I've had this one done for a while now and I just got lazy on the upload since school just finished up for this semester. I'm on break for a couple of weeks before starting my final semester for fieldwork so I'm gonna try and get a couple more uploads before things get crazy again.

On a side note we finally see another relationship moving forward with progress! And speaking of couples, my lovely friend CoolCat has written a nice little spin off in reference to Ch 12 when everyone got drunk lol. I suggest everyone go check it out!

For now I'm gonna rest before getting back at it. Next chapter we will finally be moving into the Winter Cup so stay tuned! Can't wait to hear from you all!

Link to Drunken Night: s/12771184/1/Drunken-Night


	15. Ch 15 winter Cup Begins

~*Winter Cup Begins*~

"It's finally here. The Winter Cup." Mira said softly to herself as she walked the night streets.

She smiled as she turned into a sports store with shopping list in hand. Normally Kanika would be the one doing the shopping, but she'd gotten a txt from Aomine to sneak off and meet him for a little bit. Mira had encouraged the shy girl to go to her little rendezvous. It wasn't often Kanika lived a little dangerously. That, and Mira knew Aomine wanted to check on his girlfriend to see how she was handling the recent move. So, Mira had been left shopping on her own. Not that it bothered her too much.

"That should be everything on the list. Hmm…Maybe I should stop and get drinks for the guys on the way back?" Mira said under her breath as she brought the stuff up to the register. Not paying attention to her surroundings, she ended up bumping into the person before her. "Ow! Sorry!"

"West-chan?" Mira looked up to see Midorima looking down at her with his lucky item in hand. This time it was a rubber duck.

"Midorima, long time no see." She grinned up at the man who nodded in agreement. "What brings you here?"

"Shin-chan ran out of tape." Takao poked his head out from the other side of Midorima. "Yo."

"Hey Takao!" Mira high fived the boy, sending shivers down Midorima's spine. It was never good whenever those two got along.

"I see you're doing some shopping of your own. Shouldn't that be your manager's job?" Takao noted as he paid for their stuff and waited for Mira.

"Kanika had another engagement to get to." Mira giggled softly as she paid for her own items.

"How is your ankle?" Midorima glanced down to the ankle still in a brace for support.

"Better. It won't slow me down if that's what you're insinuating." It was no secret that Midorima was upset that he was one of the only ones who hadn't gotten to play against Mira yet. If Kaijo and Shutoku both won their first games tomorrow, then they'd be facing each other next. Midorima didn't want anything to mess up his chance to face the girl who'd seemed to captivate all who'd faced her so far.

"And as far as everything else that had happened that night?" Midorima fixed his glasses, looking away to not pressure the girl into answering. The three walked down the street for a time until Takao decided to pop into the convenience store for something. The two weren't stupid. They knew he was giving them privacy.

"You didn't strike me as the caring type." Mira leaned against a brick planter as Midorima let out a slight chuckle.

"I have a younger sister myself. It's my job to notice things like what happened with you." He stood next to her, wondering if she would answer him or not.

"It's….progressing is the best way to describe it. The air was cleared all around and things are slowly moving forward. But we both agreed to wait to do anything till after the Winter Cup. I've got a few debts that need to be repaid before I even think about going out on dates." Mira snickered darkly before feeling a hand on her head.

"It's good to see you have your priorities straight." Midorima gave the girl a slight smile as the two stood together.

"Aw Shin-chan!" Takao squealed while snapping a picture, much to the displeasure of his ace. "Remember you have friends here too. I'm sure if you offered to play against Shin-chan he'd listen to anything you had to say."

"Thanks guys." Mira gave the two a firm nod before turning to head back to her inn. So it surprised her to see the two walk on either side of her and carry on conversation naturally.

Mira smiled to herself as she once against found herself thinking about the past. About how much she'd dreaded coming to Japan. About how her life had been a total wreck. About how much she'd hated basketball and hadn't wanted anything to do with it anymore. But here she was. A starter on a nationally ranked team, friends with some of the best players out there, and regaining everything she'd once lost. It was funny how life worked sometimes. And how it continued to play out for her.

"What's that smile for?" Takao asked, noticing Mira grinning about something.

"Just amazed as to how much I've grown since coming here. And how many friends I've made along the way." She glanced to each of them in turn.

"I feel so special!" Takao squealed while hugging the girl tightly. Both he and Mira broke out into laughter with Midorima pretending to be annoyed by it all.

Meanwhile…

Kise was waiting patiently in front of the hotel. He'd gotten a message from Kanika not too long ago saying that Mira had gone shopping on her own since Aomine had wanted to meet up to see how she was doing. As much as Kise had wanted to rush off after the girl, his better judgement had told him to just let Mira enjoy this time alone. The team had been hovering a bit since she'd been cleared to come back to practice. Smother the feisty red head too much and she was bound to snap sooner or later. So there he waited, playing on his phone till Mira got back. Even if it was eating him up.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to walk down the sidewalk a bit and meet her. She's probably on her way back by now." Kise thought to himself out loud.

He pushed off the wall he'd been leaning against and started down towards the shopping district. Kise smiled to himself as he thought back on when he'd first met Mira to now. Who'd have ever thought the two would become so close, let alone the two falling for each other. In such a short time they'd gone through so much that it was hard to believe that it was only a little over half a year since Mira had walked into Kise's life.

'She's faced so many obstacles since coming here. It's about time Mira just gets to enjoy playing basketball for once.' In his mind he could see Mira smiling, laughing, enjoying basketball to the fullest. It was quickly wiped away upon seeing a certain person jogging towards him on the sidewalk. 'Speaking of obstacles.'

Kise's face turned sour as Himuro came closer and closer. As a player, Kise respected Himuro's talents and ability to tolerate Murisakibara for long periods of time. As a person, Kise was still a little peeved on how he'd tried to swoop in and steal Mira from him. Not that he could blame him since it'd taken Kise so long to actually come clean about his feelings. But that didn't mean he had to agree with it. Kise gritted his teeth as he focused his attention on his phone. Just because he didn't like the guy didn't mean he was going to go out of his way to antagonize him. He was still Mira's friend after all.

"Well, well, fancy meeting you here Kise Ryota." The blond physically tensed up upon hearing his name. He reluctantly looked up from his phone to see Himuro looking at him with sweat dripping down his face.

"Himuro Tatsuya. Pleasure." Kise nodded as he put his phone away. One look at the guy in front of him told Kise that Himuro had no intentions of just letting it go at that. 'He started it.'

"Where's Mira at? Normally you two are attached at the hip. Or did she catch you running around with another girl?" Himuro asked lightly in an annoyingly mocking tone.

"She's out shopping for our team. And that misunderstanding was cleared up quite some time ago. We've even moved on to admitting our feelings for each other." Kise returned in that suave pretty boy way of his that usually angered guys to no end. Seems it worked on Himuro as well.

"Feelings can change. Especially after all the screw ups you've had." The façade dropped then as Himuro squared up to Kise.

"So I've heard." Kise smirked at the pale boy. Clearly Himuro wasn't the only one in the know about Mira's love life. Both past and present.

"I respect Mira and the decision she has made. However, as far as I'm concerned you aren't fit to be with her. I stepped aside the first time you hurt her. This time I won't." Himuro did nothing to hide his disgust for the boy in front of him. "I won't just hand Mira over again. Not when I have a chance to make up for the past."

"Who are you to say who is and isn't fit when you're the one who first pushed her away in the first place?" Kise took a step towards Himuro who didn't flinch from the challenge.

"I know Mira. Better than anyone else. I can tell when someone is and isn't a good fit. And you've already proven me right. Twice." Himuro hissed lowly as his eyes darkened.

"Someone else used to think he knew what was best for Mira as well. And he was the cause of a lot of pain." Kise reminded Himuro who visibly flinched at the comparison.

"I am nothing like Alexander. I would never force Mira into something she didn't want." It took all the raven haired boy had to not slug Kise right then and there.

"Neither would I." Kise growled lowly.

"Don't tell me…." Mira groaned as she and the other two came around the corner. Sure enough, Kise and Himuro were in an intense staring contest with each other.

"It looks like neither is willing to acknowledge the other. Seems like you're caught in a love triangle. Such a shoujo manga scene." Takao muttered as he held his hands behind his head.

"What are you going to do?" Midorima looked down to Mira who was already storming off.

"Put an end to the pissing match." She griped under her breath.

Mira made sure to stay hidden behind Kise as she walked up to the two. With neither one paying her any mind, Mira was able to sneak up to them. She gave Kise a hard shove and caused him to headbutt Himuro. Both boys held their heads in pain before turning to see a very pissed off Mira with her arms crossed over her chest. The two swallowed hard as they realized they'd been busted. Big time.

"Care to explain why you two were glaring at each other?" Mira growled, shifting her gaze from Kise to Himuro.

"We don't approve of each other it would seem." Himuro was the first to speak up. Always trying to stay on her good side one way or another.

"I don't have a problem with you. It's you trying to get between us that pisses me off." Kise corrected. Mira was already pissed. There was no sense in hiding the truth from her now.

"It really is like a shoujo manga!" Takao busted out laughing, holding his guts while Midorima shook his head in annoyance. Mira herself let out an annoyed sigh before turning to face the two.

"Look, I'm old enough now to make my own decisions. Whom I choose to date is between me and that person. And I'm starting to think I don't want anything to do with either of you if you're going to keep this shit up." Mira snapped. Looking at Himuro first before turning her violet orbs on to Kise. Almost daring him to say something and give her a reason to call off their relationship when it'd only just started.

"I'm sorry. Really." Kise apologized, pulling the puppy dog eyes.

"Me too." Himuro gave Mira his best smile as the two called a temporary truce to appease their favorite girl.

"Now, I suggest both of you get your asses back to your hotels." Mira turned on her heel then. She glanced up at Midorima who read what she wanted him to do in that moment.

"What about you?" Kise asked as Midorima adjusted his glasses.

"I told her that I'd go with her to collect your manager. I suggest not incurring your partner's wrath any further." Midorima turned to follow Mira with Takao hot on his heels. Once they were out of earshot from the other two, the shooter cleared his voice and looked down to Mira to see her typing away furiously on her phone. "Mind explaining what that was all about."

"Sorry. I needed an excuse to not have Kise tag along. Good job by the way." Mira held her hand out, to which Midorima gave her an awkward high five.

"So, who are we meeting?" Takao asked. He would secretly rib Midorima about his awkwardness later.

"I asked Akashi to see if Atsushi would come join us. I need to speak to him about the game tomorrow." Mira explained as they sat down.

"I better be getting your homemade cookies out of this." A bored voice called out. The three turned to see Murisakibara lumbering towards them, munching on his favorite snack per his usual fashion.

"Don't worry. I'll make good on my promise." Mira giggled mischievously as the boys all wondered what exactly she had up her sleeve this time.

_._._

The crowd was already getting pumped up as teams took to their respective courts. Both Kaijo and Yosen ran through their warm ups with certain aces shooting looks across the court at each other. Mira rolled her eyes, glad she'd though ahead. While normally guys weren't drama centered, things could always turn ugly when they tried to one up each other. The red head spared a glance to Murisakibara who nodded, recalling their agreement from last night. The buzzer rang out loud as cheers from the crowd roared to life while the teams headed to their bench. Mira pulled her ponytail tighter as the team huddled up and went through their usual pregame mantra. The starting five headed out on the court and lined up as they waited for their opponents to join them.

"Don't forget what this game is really for." Mira said to Kise as the blond stretched his arms out.

"Like you need to remind me." Kise teased lightly, looking down at a doubtful Mira. Feeling eyes on him, Kise looked up to see Himuro already boring holes into him.

"We'll see." The girl whispered to herself as she looked at Himuro who spared her a soft smile. The two teams bowed to each other as the energy in the stadium began to build.

The teams took up position as they set up for the tip off. Mira dropped back a bit lower than normal, already knowing who was going to win the tip. Sure enough, Murisakibara knocked it to Himuro who took his time heading down the court upon spotting Mira who was already set up and waiting for him. But it wasn't her he wanted to match up with. He glanced to Kise who moved up front with Mira and marked Himuro, surprising everyone but two on the court.

"Kise, we're supposed to match up man to man. You're the best option for handling Murisakibara. What are you doing?" Mira called out as she dropped back a bit while the rest of the team shifted around. Doing their best to make up for Kise's selfishness.

"That guy is clearly picking a fight. I'm not one to back down. Don't worry, it'll be fine." Kise looked over his shoulder to Mira who wore an annoyed look on her face.

"Let's have a good match, shall we?" Himuro taunted as the two began their face off.

'I knew this was going to happen. Fine. He wants to endanger the game he can. Thankfully I talked it out with Murisakibara last night.' Mira glanced over to the giant who appeared just as annoyed as she was.

The game was just as intense as everyone predicted. Possibly even more so because it turned primarily into a battle of the aces. Between Kise's copy ability and Himuro's Mirage Shots, the score didn't tend to fluctuate very much. But the teams of the two players were beginning to wonder just what the deal was between the two guys. They were going way too hard for the first quarter instead of pacing like they normally would. And towards the end of the second they were starting to run on fumes. They barely participated in any team play and tried to make plays happen all on their own. Mira was glad to see that she wasn't the only one growing irritated by this display of egotism. Sad thing is, only she and one other knew what was prompting the show off battle between the two players. Mira was done holding out hope that Kise or Himuro would be man enough to set their ego's and pride aside long enough to remember what they were here for. And if they weren't going to pull their heads out of their asses, them someone else needed to.

Mira locked eyes with Murisakibara as the shot went up. The two traded sides of the court, specifically targeting a certain player from either team. In the mess of the rebound two bodies were sent flying in opposite directions. Fouls were called on both Mira and Murisakibara as the two who'd been knocked on their asses stared up at their attackers. Neither Himuro, nor Kise, could believe what just happened as they were left sitting on their asses watching as Murisakibara and Mira walked near each other.

"Guess you were right Mi-chin." Murisakibara said as he looked over at Himuro. Cleary pissed off with how the first half of the game had played out.

"This is the one time I really wished my gut hadn't been right." Mira was giving the same look to Kise as the two walked over to the awkward looking pair standing together.

* * *

Sorry for the delay in updating everyone! I'm in the final phase of school and things picked up during my fieldwork so I had to put my story writing on the backburner. But I promise not to let this story die! We've still got quite a way to go before we can wrap this story up! For now though I hope you all enjoy and I'll try not too take too long with the next update.


	16. Ch 16 Fighting For Herself

Hello all! Sorry for being gone for so long! I literally have a jacked up nerve in my hand which left me unable to do anything for the longest time. It's still messed up and has basically made it to where I haven't wanted to touch my computer in a very long time. *glares at wrist*. However I am done with school and should be a functioning adult before long. Plus I found my motivation to pull myself out of the slump I was in and to pick up my stories that I felt soo bad for abandoning for so long! But enough about me. You didn't come here to hear me rant, you came for the update! I hope you enjoy!

~*Fighting for Herself*~

"What the hell was that about Mira?!" Kise hollered as he chased after said girl into the locker rooms.

The red head remained silent as she walked into the locker room. The rest of the team just as quiet as they wondered what exactly was going on yet again between the two. Kanika held her clipboard tightly, already having an idea as to what Mira was going to say. Once she heard the door click shut, only then did she turn towards Kise. Her usually wide violet orbs were shrunken. She was pissed.

"Do you want to beat Tatsuya so badly that you're willing to forget everything we've worked for till now?" Mira snarled. Kise felt himself fall back a step as she kept her gaze trained on the boy. "You let your damn pride rule you out there. And because of it we're trailing by 10 points. Tell me, are you willing to put our team in jeopardy all because of some stupid testosterone filled show off match?"

"Care to fill us in West-chan?" Hayakawa finally spoke up. None of them had ever seen Mira so pissed off during a match before.

"Kise and Tatsuya are using this match to settle a personal score. I can guarantee you Yosen is as upset as we are at the so-called aces we have." Mira snapped. She looked over her shoulder at Kise, showing just how disgusted she'd been with his play.

"From your anger, and the way the two looked at you before the match, I'm assuming it's some kind of Love Triangle." Nakamura surmised as murmurs ran through the squad.

"One that shouldn't even exist on the court." The red head hissed before sitting down and crossing her arms over her chest.

"So what do we do now?" A second year spoke up, looking to the coach for answers.

"It's true that we're lagging behind. But we still have time to make up the score difference if we can get back to our original formation and stick to our basketball. Without any outside distractions." Even the coach was disappointed in the play he'd seen from Kise. It was much like when he'd first joined Kaijo. Playing only for himself instead of the team.

"Coach, can I make a suggestion?" Mira held her hand up as all eyes pointed to her. "If Yosen benches their ace, I say we bench ours as well."

"What?!" Kise's eyes widened in shock at Mira who was refusing to look at him at this point.

"What makes you so certain that they will?" The coach asked, curious as to why Mira would make such a suggestion if she didn't know something.

"Why do you think Atsushi—Murisakibara, and me fouled the fuck heads at the same time? They don't want to win this way anymore than we want to play this way. We don't need Kise to make up the point difference. We can do it without him. Let him cool his head on the bench for now." It was only then did she spare him a sideways glance. She didn't care at the moment if her words cut Kise or not. He needed time to clear his head and focus.

"Then who'll take on Murisakibara? Even if we double team him, it'll be hard to handle Yosen without Kise." A third year said this time.

"I'll take him on. I still have **that** I can use. Even though I wanted to save it for when we faced Rakuzan." Mira sighed as she rolled her neck around.

"Coach, I agree." Hayakawa spoke up. "While West-chan can't do it alone, she can draw Murisakibara outside and give us some leeway down below. We'll just have to support her as best we can on defense."

"I'm not sure what you have planned, but I'll trust you. If the gap widens too much I'll put Kise back in immediately." The coach warned as the others nodded. They gathered their things and headed back for the court. Halftime was just about over and they still had two quarters left.

"How could you suggest that Mira?! You guys can't win against Murisakibaricchi without me!" Kise pleaded with the girl, hoping he could change her mind.

"You sure as hell thought you could win it alone earlier." She hissed before picking up her pace and leaving him behind.

Kise felt all the fight leave him as he trailed at the back of his team. He glanced over to the other bench to see Himuro hanging his head dejectedly while someone replaced him on the court. It would seem Mira had called things right. Yosen wasn't about to put up with any kind of selfish play either. Kise quietly took his place on the bench as the crowd began to grow agitated upon seeing two of the starting players sitting out.

"Now, we know there's not much I can do on defense because of the huge height difference. But as for offense…." Mira smirked deviously as the boys nodded.

"I'm just glad we practiced with you in that mode. It's scary enough being on the same side, let alone facing it." Nakamura shivered at the thought as Hayakawa hit him hard on the back. The poor boy nearly lost his glasses in the process as his captain let out a raucous laugh.

"Don't worry! It'll all work out!" Hayakawa ran his words together again, but they got the basic drift.

The buzzer rang out for the game to start once again. It was Kaijo's ball. Nakamura checked the ball into Mira who took her time bringing it down. She took a deep breath as she focused her mind. When she stepped across the half court line, her eyes had changed. There was a small yellow ring around her irises now. An oppressive air slowly took over the court as the Yosen players could sense a change in the girl. Even Murisakibara could sense something was different as Mira gave them all a smug smirk before setting up and taking a shot. A three pointer sank beautifully into the basket. Mira had entered her Demon Zone.

'So this is what Mi-chin was talking about. Fun.' Murisakibara thought to himself as he set up for offense.

The Kaijo boys pulled out a double team on Murisakibara, doing their best to keep him from moving too much as Mira pulled double time up top. The Yosen players didn't know how Kaijo could still play with the menacing aura dripping from their point guard. It felt like a wild animal priming itself for the attack. Looking to go for the jugular first chance it got. Unlike Kaijo though, Yosen could function without their ace.

"Who needs an ace when you have a demon on your side?" Hayakawa snickered as he and another kept Murisakibara on lock down.

Kaijo was running a zone defense with no one but Mira to cover the top. Giving Yosen plenty of room to maneuver. Or so they thought. Mira allowed her body to relax as her senses went into over drive. All that training back home during the summer had paid off in a big way. She was finally back in her top form. The point guard made to pass the ball off, to the side in order to give Liu a chance at a three. A blur of blue and red shot forth and easily stole the ball before blazing down the court. The boys couldn't catch up by the time she'd taken the ball up for a lay up.

"How did she get so fast?" Another Yosen guard asked, watching as Mira spared them all a glance before setting up again. Barely looking winded as the game continued.

True to what was said, Mira put pressure on the top of the key. The only way Yosen was able to score is if they moved the ball quickly down to Murisakibara. Not that it fazed Kaijo much. They allowed the little devil to do as she pleased, using them as she desired in order to allow for them to get the best chance at scoring. All while driving the fear home that Mira wasn't a force to be messed with. One little mistake is all it took for her to create an opening and close the point gap that much further. True to her word she kept most of the offensive power on the outside as she took up the position of primary scorer. Pulling off trick shots, far away threes, and anything else needed to show that Yosen could rule under the basket if they wished. The outside is where Mira ruled. Not for long however….

"Heh, took you long enough." Mira huffed as she stared up at the giant before her.

"Now I know why Aka-chin is so fond of you." Murisakibara's eyes flashed in excitement as the others could sense what was happening. He'd just entered zone.

It was a literal David vs Goliath scene as Murisakibara took Mira on in a one-on-one. What Murisakibara lacked in speed he made up for with his long limbs, cutting Mira off wherever she attempted to go. Not that it fazed the girl too much. She was enjoying this as much as Murisakibara. She kept up her relentless attack as she managed to slowly make her way into the paint. It was then Mira jumped to the side and began to bring the ball up.

"Your two hand trick won't work on me!" Murisakibara hollered as he brought both of his massive arms up.

"If this were a true one-on-one, Atsushi you'd have me beat. But since it's not…." Mira giggled as she passed the ball behind her back to a waiting Nakamura.

The ball rimmed off the basket before falling into the hoop. The crowd roared to life as there was still 5 minutes left in the third quarter. Mira wiped the sweat from her face with her jersey before sparing a look at Murisakibara. They were just getting started.

Watching from the sidelines was a stunned Kise. He could hardly believe the spectacle he saw. Multiple times Mira and Murisakibara fought it out with the giant winning most of the time. But because of the pressure still on the other Yosen players, the plan had worked. Murisakibara was the only one who could face Mira head on in her demon mode. She would manage to score a few shots here and there, but stuck mainly to working the ball around now that the biggest threat was following her around. Yosen knew that the minute they tried to bring Murisakibara back down underneath, Mira would make them pay up top. So they stuck to the option where they could do the most damage control. The score stayed pretty close with no more than a six point difference at any given time. But Mira was doing it. Without Kise.

"Kise-senpai, Mira's Demon Zone can only last a quarter. After that she'll be pretty spent. And if we win, we still have another game after this. Are you really going to let her fight alone against such tough opponents?" Kanika asked softly as Kise shook his head hard.

He got the message Mira had been trying to tell him early. How many times had Mira shown him that she could stand on her own? That she didn't need anyone to fight for her? She was strong enough to do that. Proving it on the court now as she and Murisakibara ran each other ragged with their game of cat and mouse. Mira needed someone who would fight along side her. And should Kise keep playing these stupid games with Himuro instead of focusing on the fight the team had before them, then Mira would leave him in the dust and not look back. And the same could be said for her childhood friend. Mira wasn't some weak little heroine who needed someone to fight for her honor. She needed someone who could fight on par and run wild with her. Otherwise they'd never stand a chance of holding her interest.

The buzzer rang out then, signaling the end of the third quarter. Kanika quickly rushed out with towels and water for everyone as Kise rose from his seat. He walked forward and bowed to Mira before anything could be said. All eyes were on the blond as he kept his head down, waiting for Mira to say something.

"Learn something while sitting out?" Mira finally spoke up as she tossed her towel at Kise.

"You could say that. Sorry for being a dumbass." Kise chuckled as he finally stood back up.

"Good. I'm not sure how much longer I could've kept that up. Atsushi is a beast." Mira sighed in exhaustion as the team swarmed her, laughing at her comment as they did so.

"Still got enough to handle Himuro?" Kise asked, looping an arm around her neck while Mira finished off her water.

"Beats taking on the giant. Besides, I've gone three rounds of one on one with Aomine before. I'm still good." Mira groaned as she recalled said match ups.

"You heard her boys!" Kise rallied as Kaijo let out a battle cry.

"Something tells me we're in trouble…." Himuro trailed off as he pulled off his warm up top.

"Be careful with Mi-chin. She's a pain." Murisakibara rolled his neck about as they stepped back on the court. "Even when she's not in that mode."

"Understood." Himuro nodded as everyone took up position again.

Kaijo was back in top form. Kise had sunk down low to handle Murisakibara while Nakamura and Mira marked their man. Himuro couldn't help the humorless chuckle that escaped his lips as he looked at Mira. In his mind he saw the awkward little girl she used to be, just trying to keep up with him and Kagami when she was younger. But now….

"I guess you really don't need anyone to fight for you anymore." Himuro said as Mira stayed on her toes. "But I'm still not willing to hand you over to him"

"Tatsuya, I'll always have love for you. That will never change. But it's my life and my choices. You wanna change my mind? Then I suggest you give it your all and try to beat me." Mira smirked in that playful way Himuro loved.

"Very well." He nodded as the two got serious. Down below currently engaged in a shoving battle….

"I like Mi-chin. Don't hurt her." Murisakibara warned as Kise balked slightly.

"You too? How many people does she have on her side?" Kise shook his head before looking up top to see Mira holding Himuro at bay. "Don't worry Murisakibarrichi. I have no intentions of causing her harm. Between Akashicchi and Yamato, I don't think I'd live."

"So I can tell Kaga-chin then?" Murisakibara grinned deviously.

"Over my dead body." Kise warned as his Perfect Copy flared to life.

The last quarter was a sight to behold. It was a hard fought battle between the two teams. Much more evenly matched now that everyone was playing their positions properly. It didn't take Kaijo long to pull ahead with the duo of Mira and Kise working flawlessly together. The game ended with the score of 98-88. The two teams lined up and bowed to each other. It was only after the formalities were done that Mira's legs gave out on her. The girl just wore a confused look on her face, causing both teams to break into laughter. Himuro and Kise looked at each other before walking to Mira and each extending a hand to her. This was one thing they could agree on. They would do what it took to protect their favorite girl.

"Screw up again and I will take her from you." Himuro warned before passing Mira off to him.

"I know. I don't intend on letting her go though." Kise grinned proudly as he kept a tight grip on Mira so that she wouldn't fall again. Himuro looked to the wobbly Mira as his features softened.

"I'm not saying I like it, but I won't try to intervene anymore." Himuro smiled at the shorter girl.

"Thanks Tatsuya." Mira reached out and clasped his hand before the three broke apart. Kise kept his arm on Mira's waist, making sure she didn't fall as the other grabbed their gear.

"I hope you'll be recovered in time for our match." Midorima said as he adjusted his glasses, locking gazes with Mira.

"Please, I won't even need my Demon Zone for you." She teased, easily holding Midorima's stare.

"Guess we better prove you wrong then." Takao chuckled as he willed for their game to start that way they could face Kaijo already.

"You can try." Kise returned the smug look as the four passed each other and headed their respective ways.

* * *

Okay everyone it's finally here! Sorry for making you all wait so long for the update. Sometimes life happens and has a way of kicking you when you're already down. But I'm slowly pulling myself out of my slight depression and am getting back into the swing of things. So those still there please let me know in the reviews! Make me get off my ass and do something while I'm waiting to see what the hell is going to happen with my damn wrist!

For those that remember what happened before this chapter, I wanted to reinforce that Mira was capable of fighting on her own. Yeah we all remember the kickass scene where she stomped Alexander, her old nemesis, into the ground but we hadn't seen that badassery in a while. Plus I liked the idea of using the demon zone again during the finals. Who better than an opponent that Mira knew she had no chance against winning under normal means? Yes, the plays in KnB can be a bit ridiculous at times, so I still wanted to make it believable but possible at the same time.


	17. Ch 17 Brave Mouse

~*Brave Mouse*~

"It's cold! It hurts! Make it stop senpai!" Mira whined with the ice bag on her raised up ankle.

"Did you hear that? She called us senpai! Ow!" Kise rubbed the sore spot on his head before feeling Mira sink back into him as she bit her jacket, trying to get used to the ice on her ankle.

Yuri watched from above as the two tried to focus back on the game where they watched from their seats. She was glad to see the two bounce back like normal after how they'd acted on the court. Yuri herself took a deep breath before turning and heading out of the stadium. There was about another hour and a half till the next game. She needed to use the break in the time wisely. She looked to the small envelope in her hands as she made her way to the street and called a cab. She managed to wave one down and hopped in before rattling off directions to where she needed to go. To her surprise though, she would have a guest joining her.

"Where are we going?" Jason let out an exasperated sigh as Yuri grew quiet before hopping into the door on her side.

"Miss, is everything ok?" The cab driver asked as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion at Jason.

"Y-Yes. I know him." Yuri managed to spit out.

The driver gave Jason one last look before shrugging his shoulders and taking off. The drive was quiet and uneventful. Yuri tried hard, and failed miserably, to try and eliminate the redness from her cheeks. This was the first time since the night Kise and Mira had confessed that they'd been alone. And Yuri knew the reason why. While she couldn't necessarily recall the events of said night from all the alcohol in her system, Mira had taken pity on her and given her a play by play of what Jason had relayed to her. As if flashing her underwear hadn't been bad enough, Yuri had kissed Jason. As in full on, throwing herself on him, in a drunken stupor without a care kiss. What was worse was that he'd been frozen to the spot with shock. Before Jason had effectively broken Chance's phone that night, the sneaky twin had sent the picture to Mira who had then shown Yuri. So the girl had done all she could to avoid Jason for the sake of her own embarrassment. Yet, here they were trapped in a cab together for at least 30 minutes.

"U-U-Um….Yamato-san…." Yuri attempted to stutter out before feeling a big hand cover her mouth.

"If you're referring to what happened the night you got shit faced don't worry. Not the first time someone in that group has randomly kissed me. Although I prefer you to Chance or Chase any day." Jason shuttered at the memory of the time the two had first tried tequila. That was a night he wished he could forget.

"Still…sorry…" She managed to squeak out once he'd removed his hand from her mouth.

"No worries. So again, where are we going?" Jason asked as he kept his eyes forward.

"I wanted to take this time to drop of my entry form." Yuri said softly as Jason spared a glance towards the girl who had a soft smile on her face.

Awhile back, Mira and Kise had tried to convince Yuri to join in a non-school sanctioned gymnastics event. They could tell the girl had missed it. It had grown more evident with her and Malacai working together more often after classes. Making Mira's apartment feel that much smaller. Mira being Mira, she'd found a flyer advertising the event. She'd grabbed the forms needed and handed them over to Yuri. Old fears had surfaced as she feared running into her old team. They had a habit of going to competitions like this. But Mira had left her with the forms, saying the decision was up to her.

"Finally made up your mind huh?" Jason muttered more to himself than her.

"I want to change. I don't want to keep letting fear keep me from something I love. You, West-chan, Kise-kun, and the others all taught me that." Yuri picked her head up to smile at Jason who merely quirked a brow at the girl before turning forward, chuckling softly as he did so.

Jason had to admit, the girl had grown on him. He still didn't care much for the sparkly personality she had, but the girl wasn't so bad once she stopped trying to go after Mira. And while he would never admit it out loud, he'd kind of liked the kiss. Plus, he never tired of bullying the girl to an extent. Jason wasn't blind. He knew Yuri was good looking and probably had plenty of guys confessing to her on the daily. But the idea of dating had never entered his mind. He'd never expected another female to put up with him as Mira did. Most took one look at him and ran the opposite way. Not that he blamed them because his attitude usually matched his outward appearance. But Yuri was still sticking around. Even on the day Kise wasn't in class, she came and ate with him and the rest of the group. She'd even gone as far as to slap a boy that had made fun of Jason.

'Guess we'll see how it goes huh?' Jason thought to himself as the cab finally came to a stop.

The two hopped out and headed inside the venue. Others milled about as Jason followed Yuri to the registration table. The competition would take place tomorrow when they weren't competing with the Winter Cup. Jason stayed off to the side as Yuri handled her business, just vaguely glancing around the place. Honestly, he'd rather be back at the other gym helping to tend for Mira. But when he'd seen Yuri sneaking off alone, he knew Mira wouldn't want him to let her be.

"Not a bad venue. Not as big as the basketball gyms, but still not bad. Who'd you list as your coach?" Jason asked once Yuri had rejoined him. Her business taken care of.

"Treyvon-san. He's been a big help in getting me back in my top form. I hope he doesn't mind though." Yuri held her chin as Jason's mouth pulled into a half smile.

"I'm sure he won't mind." Jason pushed his hands into his pockets as they headed for the entrance.

It was then Yuri froze in terror as she heard a familiar laugh. One that sounded like angelic bells to most. To her? It was like hearing her death bell toll. Yuri couldn't help it as she locked eyes with a raven haired boy who was the image of model student. He was clean cut with short raven black hair, wearing his track suit as it was meant to be as he strode in all his 6 foot glory and dazzling emerald eyes. All of Yuri's old teammates flocked around him as he led the way inside. Yuri ducked her head too late as the boy caught a glimpse of her sapphire eyes and silver hair.

"Takeshita Yuri. It's been awhile hasn't it?" The guy came to a stop in front of her, putting on a dazzling smile for everyone around them. But two people knew the truth. Yuri, who refused to look up at him, and Jason. The punk could spot a fake smile anywhere now after Alexander had revealed his true colors.

"Yuki Rio-san…" Yuri managed to squeak out after gathering the courage to look up at him.

"Do you have business with us?" Jason piped up as he slung an arm around Yuri's shoulder casually. Yuki narrowed his eyes at the boy before looking to Yuri who was just as surprised by Jason's actions.

"Yuri, don't tell me that this is your new man? I'm almost jealous." Yuki chuckled in a snarky tone with the two girls mimicking him.

"That's one of the bastards that's been sniffing around her lately." Jason looked past the leader to see one of the two boys that he and Mira had floored that one day.

"Say's the fucker who got floored by a girl who's 5'6". But hey, Little Red scares me shitless too when she's mad." Jason smirked, easily irritating the boys who remembered the incident well. The one reached to his nose as he gritted his teeth as the leader held his hand up to silence them.

"I would've thought you'd have chosen better than this riff raff Yuri. But it seems you've sunk lower than the others have said. What a shame. Here I was hoping to see you make a return to the gymnastics world. Seems I got my hopes up for nothing. Especially if this is the company you're keeping now." Yuki glanced up and down Jason, clearly enjoying how rough the guy appeared.

"Say what you will about me! But don't you dare talk about Yamato-kun!" Yuri boomed as she took a step towards the boy.

"Oh? Someone feeling brave are we?" Yuki laughed darkly as he placed his hands on his hips. "Tell me Yuri, how long before this one tosses you aside as well?"

"Unfortunately for you, I've grown fond of this little mouse. She's my prey now. Interfere in my chase and I will rip your throat out." Jason narrowed his eyes with a sneer on his face. "She is no longer yours to toy with as you please. Mess with what's mine and I will attack. Unlike you, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty."

Jason held Yuki's gaze easily, daring him to say something as he drew Yuri towards him. When the raven haired youth kept quiet, Jason let out a chuckle before leading Yuri out of there. It wasn't till they hit the street that he released the girl and raised his hand to flag down a taxi. Jason let out a sigh. He knew the minute he turned back around Yuri would be cowering in fear of him. The punk hadn't tried to hide his predatory nature during the exchange. It had taken all he had not to reach out and grab the guy by his collar and punch him just once. Jason wouldn't exactly blame her if she didn't want to be around him anymore. It's why Mira and the guys had been the only ones to remain his friends. Once Jason showed his true colors, people usually ran. So it surprised him to feel something hanging on to his arm. He looked down to see Yuri staring up at him with stars in her eyes.

"That was awesome! You're amazing Yamato-san!" Yuri gushed as a taxi arrived then.

"Not really. That's how I usually am." Jason muttered awkwardly as he motioned for Yuri to jump in the taxi before doing the same. "You're not scared?"

"I was a little bit. But I know you wouldn't go after someone without good cause. You've proven that to me plenty. Besides, you're still no where as scary as a pissed off West-chan." Yuri visibly shivered at the thought.

"True. Even I know I can't compare to Mira when she's on a rampage." Jason nodded in agreement. "Well, shall we head back?"

Yuri nodded her head hard before snuggling into Jason. It was only then that she realized she hadn't released her grip on his arm and quickly scurried to her side of the cab. Jason couldn't help the chuckle that came from his lips before telling the driver the directions back to the stadium. Once there, Jason gave Yuri an encouraging nod to break the news to the others about her decision. He hung back a bit, watching the mousy girl. While what he'd said had just been in the heat of the moment, he was revisiting the conversation seriously now. He shrugged to himself as he began to move towards the steps.

"So, you and Takeshita-chan?" Jason froze mid step and turned to see Mira smirking like the devil at him.

"She's like a small rodent who needs to be locked up and looked after." He tried to play off by shrugging his shoulders. Even he knew it was a pathetic attempt when lying to Mira.

"Sure~." Mira drawled out before bumping her best friend with her hip. "You could use it you know. It's time to stop worrying about my happiness and find some for yourself. That way I can stop worrying so much about you."

"I know. And I'm never going to stop worrying about you, you know?" Jason looked down at Mira with a half smile on his face.

"I know. Same here." Mira held her hand up as the two bumped fists.

"Mira! Did you hear? Takeshita-chan is going to enter that competition for tomorrow!" Kise called out from down below.

"Guess we'll have to go cheer her on tomorrow then huh?" Mira called back before grabbing her stuff near her feet and turning. "Come on, we gotta start getting ready for our next match. Something tells me Midorima isn't going to be nice this game."

"It's alright. We can handle anything they can throw at us." Kise grinned as he joined Mira.

Jason turned to see the two walking away. He vaguely wondered if he'd ever have the same look in his eyes that Kise currently had in his for Mira. He turned back around to find his seat to see Yuri waving up at him. He let out a sigh before grabbing his neck as a single thought ran across his mind.

'We'll just see how it plays out now won't we?' Jason slowly lumbered down the steps and took the seat beside Yuri. 'At least she doesn't get on my nerves anymore.'

Kaijo took the court down below as the guys and Yuri all stood to cheer. Mira and Kise both turned to give their little cheering section matching smug looks before turning to face their opponents. Takao and Midorima could hardly wait as they locked eyes with the Kaijo duo. Yuri could feel her own competitive spirit rising as she clenched her hand into a fist over her heart. While she was excited to watch Mira down below, she also couldn't wait till it was her time to shine on her own stage.

"There's fire in your eyes. That's good. Maybe you can keep my attention after all." Jason said just loud enough for Yuri to hear. It didn't help that he'd said it in a husky seductive voice however. Yuri turned fire engine red before slumping back into her seat.

"Jason, what did you just do?" Malacai asked as he fanned the poor dazed Yuri.

"Don't you wish you knew?" Jason gave them a toothy grin very similar to Mira's whenever she was plotting something. Well, he was bound to pick up a few of her bad habits since the two had been friends for so long.

"How much you wanna bet it has something to do with the night we all drank?" Chase whispered to his brother.

"Let's not bring that up now. I really don't feel like having to face his wrath like that anytime soon." Chance whined, recalling just how badly he'd been beaten for that incident.

"I think I'd rather face an angered Jason than Mira any day. At least Jason takes mercy on us." Chase paled as he recalled the beating he'd received for his part in embarrassing Yuri that evening.

"But do you think?" Chance motioned between Jason and Yuri as they took their seats with tip off occurring in a few minutes.

"It's possible. He doesn't have that look of disgust in his eyes anymore." Chase shrugged before turning his attention back to the game. "We can worry later. Right now, there's about to be a badass game."

* * *

A little short, but it was about time Yuri got some screen time while we allow our favorite players a chance to rest. The action will come back next chapter as we finally have the showdown all (well one really lol) have been waiting for! Kaijo vs Shutoku!

Also this is an idea I've had for awhile now. Yuri and Jason just seemed like one of those unlikely couples that shouldn't happen, but for some reason really work together. In my opinion at least lol. Oh, and for anyone curious about the drunken reference mentioned early in the chapter go see Drunken Night by CoolCat0720 for a refresher! That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed!


	18. Ch 18 Advancing On

So...hopefully things are starting to get back on track for me now. I'll go into details down below after the chapter, but it's finally here! Midorima vs Mira! I tried to take a bit of a different approach on this one so I hope you all like it!

~*Advancing On*~

Midorima snuck a glance over on the Kaijo end of the court where they were warming. His eyes trailed down to Mira's wrapped up ankle and brace. She was currently favoring it, keeping weight off it as she joined the huddle as the game got ready to start. Midorima wasn't dumb. He'd seen how hard she'd gone against Murisakibara in her previous game. Even at your best, playing against a monster like him was bound to take a toll on a person. He vaguely wondered if she would be able to make it the entire game. To his surprise, she headed to the bench as someone else took her place in the starting five. Midorima had expected Mira of all people to pitch a fit and insist on starting during such an important game. For her to be so complacent, it meant she trusted her team enough to fight without her. As for how long though, the megane could only speculate.

"Is her ankle okay?" Takao asked, voicing Midorima's concerns as they lined up across from Kaijo.

"I highly doubt that small injury would keep her out of the entire game." At least, Midorima hoped not. A light chuckle drew his attention from Kaijo's bench to the person standing across from him.

"Mira's fine. I made her carry the bulk of the load last game. It's my turn to step up and pull my own weight so she doesn't have to strain so hard when she comes in later." Kise grinned, not trying to contain his excitement as he stretched his arms out.

"That is good news. However, I've been looking forward to this match for some time now. We're going to make you regret not using her right away." Midorima promised as he fixed his glasses. He planned on dragging the red head out as soon as possible.

"You could say Shin-chan is being extremely greedy today." Takao shrugged as the ref called for them to bow to each other. Truth be told, he wanted to see how Mira would fare against the outside shooter himself.

"Kise! Slam your foot on the pedal and don't you dare let up! One quarter is all I need!" Mira called out as the boys lined up for the jump ball. "Guys! Show them that Kaijo doesn't just roll over for anyone!"

Kise couldn't help looking over his shoulder to Mira who was standing up with her warm up top on. She was wearing his favorite toothy grin as she held her fist out to him. Confidence radiating off her as she looked over all her teammates in turn. She called out encouragements to the rest of her teammates as they all nodded in turn. The Kaijo boys all couldn't help but chuckle themselves as they primed themselves and got ready. The ball was tossed up and the game began. Shutoku won the jump, but there was no way Kaijo was going to let them take the first basket easily. Doing exactly as their point guard had instructed, the boys kicked it into high gear and stuck to a tight man to man defense.

"Is it me or does Kaijo seem more dangerous than usual?" One of the Shutoku players asked as Takao brought the ball down slowly. With Kise sticking tightly to Midorima, there was no chance of using a far away three to start things off.

'Is this what Akashi warned us about?' Midorima asked himself as he spared a glance towards Mira who was still cheering from the bench with Kanika and the others right beside her.

Midorima decided to test this theory as he made his move. He and Takao quickly traded as the point guard screened Kise off hard just as Midorima set up to shoot. Kise quickly rolled back and jumped, barely touching the ball and sending it off course as those underneath the net prepared for the rebound. What surprised Midorima though was to see how Kaijo was ruling under the basket as Hayawaka kept his man blocked out perfectly before grabbing the rebound. He didn't hesitate in turning and chunking the ball down the court as Midorima and Takao both broke free, already knowing who was waiting for them down there. Kise grabbed the ball as he took on the two Shutoku players while activating his Perfect Copy and pulled out Aomine's street skills. Kise pulled up into a fade away shot just as Midorima and Takao moved to block him. A smirk graced his lips as he passed the ball behind his back to a waiting Nakamura who shot and sank the three pointer. Kaijo would take the first points of the game.

"Nice!" Kise high fived his senpai as Hayakawa hollered from the other end of the court.

"Just once I'd like for Akashi to be wrong." Midorima grunted more to himself as he recalled a recent conversation.

Midorima had found it strange that the Rakuzan captain had contacted him last night upon seeing the bracket setup. Akashi hadn't gone into full detail, but he had warned Midorima that even if Mira wasn't on the court, she could still cause the tides to turn by igniting her team's fighting spirit. Midorima could tell just by Akashi's tone that it was something he'd have to look out for. That had been the plan till Akashi warned him that it wasn't an ability that could easily be stopped. He'd left the shooting guard with that confusing clue before saying his goodbye. Midorima could begin to see what Akashi had referred to as he checked the ball in to Takao with Kise not too far away. Not wanting to give Midorima a chance to even the score right away.

"What's that?" Takao asked as he held the ball.

"Akashi warned me that West-chan had a new ability. Seems it works whether she's on or off the court." Midorima chuckled as he headed down to take up position.

On the bench Mira cheered her heart out. While she'd agreed to rest a quarter, it didn't change the fact that she wanted to be on the court with everyone. Without her there, Kise was taking the brunt of the defense up top holding down Midorima and limiting his shots as best as he could since his Perfect Copy was running on fumes. However, there was still Takao to deal with. If Midorima was locked down, then he would just move the ball around to the others and cause a mix up underneath where they were able to score within the pain. If Kaijo made a move to attempt to stop it, then he would take things back outside and it would result in a one on one situation with Kise and Midorima. While Midorima's skills had improved, his shooting and ball handling speed still lacked compared to Kise. Due to the teamwork with him and Takao however, they more than made up for what they lacked with team play. Mira gripped her shirt tightly as she willed for the clock to just tick down faster as the score began to turn in Shutoku's favor. The guys were doing all they could to keep the score gap from widening anymore than it already had. Finally, after what felt like an eternity the buzzer rang out signaling the end of the first quarter.

"West-chan, are you sure you're okay to go?" Coach Takeuchi asked as Mira didn't hesitate in ripping off her warm up top.

"Positive. It's tolerable now. Besides, I owe Midorima a match." Mira turned to see said shooting guard looking at her. A fire in his eyes as Mira nodded at him.

"Sorry West-chan. I did my best." Keisuke, a second year, apologized as Mira stopped his bow to her.

"You guys did great. There's still plenty of game left. And I say we kick the tempo up just a bit. What do you guys think?" Mira asked, giving them all her toothy grin as the guys rallied behind her.

With Mira back in the game, Shutoku could feel the shift in the air. Proving Midorima right. As long as Mira was leading her team in some fashion, Kaijo would only continue to claw and fight their way back. As long as she gave them hope, they would charge in to battle. They would put their trust in their leader, their Alpha. Just to prove a point, Mira took a deep breath as she stepped out of bounds before throwing a no look pass between Takao's legs. She didn't even watch to see if her pass had made it or not as she ducked her head and began running, leaving Takao a bit stunned as he turned to catch up. The surprise to everyone there though was that Hayawaka had been the one to receive the pass. He didn't hesitate in throwing it to Kise who'd cut towards the middle. Having played Mira enough times, Kise had learned to stop on a dime since his calf muscles had grown stronger. Midorima slid to a stop, giving Kise the opening he needed as he wound up and pulled out an Ignite Pass Kai. The ball seemed to fly all the way across the court as Mira caught it, not easily mind you, and tossed the ball up for an under the hoop lay up. The crowd roared to life as Mira wasted no time in setting up in front of Takao. The point guard himself was now just starting to see what Midorima had been talking about before as the game continued.

Despite the pain Mira felt, she didn't let it affect her play. Pulling out all the stops to keep Takao in check and prevent him from pulling any combos with Midorima as Kise focused solely on his old Teiko teammate. It didn't take Kaijo long to come back to an eight point difference as the score seemed to hold there for most of the game. Both teams were worn from having played earlier as their star duos did all they could to assist their teams to gain a victory. It was in the middle of the third quarter is when the tide of the game shifted. Shutoku had been moving the ball around up top and managed to screen Kise off Midorima as the boy got ready to shoot. Till a flash of red caught his eye that is.

"This is what you wanted, right Midorima?" Mira asked through ragged breaths. The girl was dripping sweat and her injured ankle was causing her whole leg to shake.

"You really are related to Kagami. You two just don't know when to give up." Midorima chuckled as he dribbled the ball just out of her reach.

"That's where you're wrong." Mira giggled as her eyes began to narrow, her breathing finally in check. "Taiga doesn't know when to give up. I choose not to give up."

To prove her point Mira held her ground as Midorima felt his adrenaline rise. He was finally getting his wish. And no one was going to interrupt him either as he took Mira on. It was true that she was hurt and at this point running purely on her reactions, but she stuck to Midorima like glue. If he wanted to score on her, he was going to earn it. There was no way she was going to roll over. It would seem her team felt the same as they kept his teammates at bay. Midorima's excitement peaked as he finally entered Zone as it took all Mira had just to keep him on the same side of the court as her as sweat drenched her face and body. It was when Mira slipped in a small puddle of sweat that Midorima seized his chance to set up for a shot.

"We really must face each other again once you're at one hundred percent. It's a shame our match had to end so soon." Midorima said as he seemed to hang in the air as he prepared to release the ball.

"Heh. You seem to forget that there's more than just me and you on this court Midorima." Mira taunted as a shadow covered her.

Midorima's eyes widened as he watched Kise jump up and easily over take him as he knocked the ball away. Mira took off after it with Takao fast on her heels. Midorima turned to see Mira pulling out street moves against Takao and finally managing to trip him up as she jumped up for her own three point shot. Banking it off the board and sinking it with her left hand no less. The buzzer for the end of the quarter rang as the crowd roared into a frenzy. Kaijo was now down by five.

"How's your ankle?" Kise asked as he rushed to Mira's side.

"I'll be fine. I can make it till the end. Our biggest problem now is Midorima. He slipped into Zone and has at least another few minutes of it. I can still handle Takao, but can you take care of him?" Mira looked over to Midorima who was wiping the sweat from his brow, lighting sparking from his eyes as prepared for their final quarter.

"I used up all of my Perfect Copy earlier. I can try, but it's going to be tough." Kise admitted. A hand plopped on his head while another fell on his shoulder. Kise looked to his two senpais who were smiling at him.

"We can take care of the rest. Just do your best out there." Nakamura encouraged.

"We're all in this fight together. As long as you and West-chan can hold those two down up top, we can handle the rest!" Hayakawa boomed as the rest of the team rallied behind him.

"Think you're up to the challenge, Senpai?" Mira teased playfully as she held her hand up to Kise. A light blush crossed his face before he was able to snap out of it as he clasped Mira's hand firmly.

"How can I not with you all backing me?" Kise said with conviction as the buzzer for the fourth quarter rang out.

"You figured out Kise-senpai's trigger for Zone didn't you?" Kanika whispered to her friend as they watched lighting crack in Kise's golden eyes.

"He just needs to be reminded that as long as he keeps fighting, everything till now hasn't been for nothing. It's only what you two taught me yourselves." Mira winked at her best friend before taking off on to the court.

"It's gonna be a dog fight till the end huh?" Takao asked as he looked to the two aces who were totally focused on each other.

"Would you want it any other way?" Mira asked just as playfully as the two point guards prepared to back up their aces any way they could.

_._._

"That last game wasn't good for my heart." Mira sighed out loud from where she lounged it the pool. She was currently working out her sore ankle after icing it down. Mira was in her usual black and white swim suit.

"Who knew it'd come down to a buzzer beater." Kanika agreed as she floated along in the water. She was sporting a cute two piece with a skirt type of bottom.

The last quarter had turned into a nail biter. Both teams had pulled out all the stops to prevent the other from gaining too much of a lead as those in Zone returned to normal play. With all their bodies pushed to their limit, it became a battle of wills between Kaijo and Shutoku. The final play of the game had come down to a showdown between Mira, Takao, Midorima, and Kise. Somehow Mira and Kise had managed to stop their drive and had rushed down the court. After a few quick passes, Mira had thrown the ball up at an off angle as a last ditch effort and allowed Kise to grab the ball while in the air and slam it down for a dunk. They'd beaten Shutoku 96-95.

"Well, this at least puts us in the semi finals now. Which means we'll get to face Rakuzan." Mira said softly. That was a game she was really looking forward to. Especially since she'd been hurt the last time Kaijo had played them. Mira was happy that there was a week wait time till that game. She could use all the rest she could get for now seeing as how she'd over done it on her ankle. Thankfully it was only minor swelling and she hadn't done anymore damage to it.

"Special delivery!" Kise called out as he entered the pool area carrying food for the girls. After the game the girls had opted to head to the hotel to get Mira's ankle taken care of while the guys went to eat. "What's the diagnosis Ichinose-chan?"

"She can walk on it. Just rest and ice and she'll be okay." Kanika smiled as she pulled herself out of the pool. She gave Kise a nod before taking her food and heading up to the shared room she had with Mira. She wanted to give the two alone time, while also wanting to speak to her own beau about his day.

"Today sure was crazy wasn't it?" Kise said lightly as he stripped his shirt off to join her in the pool. The warm water felt good on his tired body as he moved to stand next to Mira who was still working her ankle out.

"I'll say. But it was worth it. We get to face Akashi next week." Mira smiled softly as she closed her eyes.

"Again, sorry about how I acted during the first match." Kise said softly as he gently pulled Mira to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He moved slowly through the water, letting Mira just float along and relax behind him.

"You more than made up for it during our match with Shutoku. Way to stretch the Zone as far as you did by the way. How are you feeling?" Mira asked, opening her eyes to look up at Kise who kept up his slow pace around the pool as he moved towards the deeper end.

"Tired. I'll be pretty sore tomorrow from how hard I pushed it today. But nothing I can't handle. Can't let my girlfriend steal all the spotlight, now can I?" Kise joked before realizing what he'd said.

He moved to cover his mouth, afraid to look over his shoulder as he waited for Mira's reaction. The two weren't officially dating yet. While they'd admitted their feelings, that's as far as they'd gone since the Winter Cup had picked up. Both had agreed to wait till after the tournament as well before going on any dates. Even though he'd agreed to it, it was driving Kise crazy that he couldn't quite call Mira his yet. So the verbal slip up could very well land him in hot water with Mira. He watched Mira's face as she thought about what he'd said. She pulled herself a bit closer to him and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Who said I was trying to steal the spotlight?" Mira finally said in a teasing tone.

"Mira?" Kise turned to face her as he held in front of him, wondering what exactly was going through her mind.

"I don't mind it. Even though I'm sure we're doing things a bit out of order though." Mira blushed lightly as she managed to hold Kise's gaze. "That first date better be pretty freaking special you know."

"Of course!" Kise squealed happily as he held Mira tightly. She hadn't denied the title and had even seemed just as excited as him when he'd looked into her eyes. Mira was officially Kise's girlfriend.

As much as the two were enjoying the pool, Mira's stomach signaled that it was time for her to eat. The two got out of the water and wrapped towels around themselves before digging into their food. Mira pulled up the footage from the games from earlier that day on her phone as they watched Seirin's and part of Touou's games before they'd finished eating. The two dressed in their cover clothes before making their way to their floor. Manami spied the two as they stepped off the elevator and called them into the captain's room where the rest of the guys were all drinking sports drinks and snacking. A mini celebration after their hard fought games that day.

"You two are awfully close tonight." Hayawaka teased as the guys cleared out a space on the bed for Mira to sit and rest her ankle on a folded up pillow.

"Did you finally give in to Kise's advances West-chan?" Another third year teased lightly as Mira heaved a big sigh. She knew there would be endless ribbing, but she figured now was as good a time as any to break the new. She looked to Kise and nodded as the blond's face light up like fireworks as he stood up and cleared his throat.

"Everyone, I have an announcement! Mira and I are officially dating! She's now my girlfriend!" Kise announced proudly as the room fell silent.

Jaws dropped, even a few cans, as eyes shifted from Kise to Mira. The red head gave a small nod to confirm the news as the boys roared back to life. Some teased Kise, others congratulated the two, and a couple even quizzed Mira on why she'd agreed to be with the idiot. Mira just smiled and went along with the merriment. A perfect way to end the day in her book. She personally couldn't wait till Kagami found out if someone hadn't already told him. One thing was for sure though, there was no sneaking out early from the mini party going on. Mira was just glad that they had the day off tomorrow to relax until later that day when Yuri's competition began. Something told her she wouldn't be getting to bed until very late that night.

* * *

Ok, so lately I've been dealing with a wrist injury that wouldn't let me sit down and do much of anything there for awhile. I just recently had surgery to fix it and I gotta say it's done miracles for me. I'm back to how I used to be and I can finally get back to writing seriously between studying once more!

As for the chapter I don't have much to say other than that I'm happy with how it turned out. Yes, I know I cut it off halfway but I couldn't find a good way without sound redundant to keep the match going. But I promise the next big game will have plenty of action packed into it and plenty of nail biters. Anyways I hope you all liked it and let me know who's still out there!


	19. Ch 19 Comeback

Finally updating! It's not the normal chapter you guys look forward too, but it's been a buildup for some time now and I hope I did it justice. Not too familiar writing for this sport so please use your imagination, or youtube for video reference, and enjoy!

~*Comeback*~

Yuri swallowed hard as she stood at the entrance to the gymnastics floor. She felt a hand on her shoulder as she looked up to see Malacai give her an encouraging nod as they stepped forward. The two had kept it simple and just gotten matching black sweat suits. Yuri could hardly believe she was standing in an arena again, let alone thinking about competing. She took a deep breath to shake off the nerves as she stepped forward into the crowd. The blinding lights of the arena bore down on her as she walked forward with her head held high. All kinds of thoughts were running through her mind today as she headed for an open area near one of the back walls.

"Takeshita-chan!" The girl looked up to see Kise waving his hardest at her with the rest in tow. Mira and Kanika were sporting a banner for her as the Americans all called out to her. She glanced over to the only quiet one to see Jason nod his head in encouragement, a small grin on his face as he did so.

"It may be a single's competition, but you're not alone out there. Don't forget that." Malacai encouraged Yuri as she finished tying her long hair up into a bun.

"I know. It's all thanks to everyone's help that I'm even here today. Kinda weird being on this side of the barrier again." Yuri smiled softly to herself as she began stripping off her track suit as memories played in her mind.

Images of training in the gym, free running parkour, building up her strength and flexibility again, of everyone doing what they could to help her find herself again despite their own worries and concerns. Yuri couldn't believe what she'd done to deserve to have everyone standing behind her as they were now. Especially with how things had once started out with the group she'd been adopted into. She spared one last look up, seeing Mira wearing an ear to ear grin while giving her a thumbs up. Yuri returned it, confidence in her eyes as she finished stripping. She stepped out of her sweats and made her final adjustments to her leotard. It was a black leotard with long sleeves and a fiery phoenix that sat proudly on the upper left half of her body with the tail trailing down the right side.

"Holy shit. I guess Takeshita-chan really was a big deal before that incident." Mira whistled lowly as she listened to the whispers spreading through the crowd as people began to recognize the silver haired beauty below.

"I just hope the nerves don't get to her. This being her first time back and all." Kanika muttered lowly as she gripped the banner tightly.

"She'll be fine." All heads turned towards Jason, surprise coating everyone's face but Mira's. When the punk quirked an eyebrow at them, the others just turned back around with Mira snickering in enjoyment.

Down below, Yuri focused on going through her stretches as she did her best to zone out all the whispers around her. She went through the normal routine she'd developed for herself to fully prepare her body for the routines she had planned for that day. The ones she was supposed to originally perform on her last competition. With her old team. Yuri stood up to see said females glaring daggers at her, dressed in teal leotards that had see through sleeves with accents of white darting around them. Standing near them? Her old captain. He merely smirked at Yuri upon making eye contact with her.

"That was the guy?" Malacai asked, stepping up beside Yuri who nodded. She could feel her nerves building up as she shook her arms out. "I gotta say, Jason is definitely an upgrade. That guy looks like such a prick."

"Ha?!" Yuri felt her face turn fire engine red as she turned to look up at Malacai who had that sneaky grin on his face.

"Don't think we all didn't notice you two disappear before the Shutoku game yesterday." Malacai teased as the girl began weakly hitting him out of embarrassment. "At least you're calm now right?"

"Huh? Come to think of it…" Yuri felt all her nerves disappear as a hand landed on her head.

"Don't worry. Today isn't about getting perfect scores or out doing your old team. It's about finding what you left behind. Any of that other stuff is just a bonus." Malacai shrugged as Yuri nodded, feeling a smile build up on her face.

"You're right—Coach." Yuri winked at the boy who flashed her a half grin. She smacked her face hard before grabbing her bag and heading off towards her first event. Balance Beam.

"You should've done the sport a favor and stayed away." A girl from her old school hissed.

"A coward like you doesn't deserve to come back." The second one sneered.

"To think, you used to be one of our aces." The last one laughed as their group moved forward so that they could perform next. For some reason, Yuri would be following them around the entire day.

"I'm impressed. You didn't let their taunting affect you." Malacai nodded as Yuri put her bag down.

"Compared to West-chan, they're not even scary." Yuri laughed as she turned to see the first one going with Yuki nearby giving pointers to the other two.

"Remember, there are two ways you can perform your routine. It's up to you to decide." Malacai whispered to her before falling silent as Yuri watched the girls in front of her.

Time seemed to move incredibly slow, yet fast at the same time as Yuri watched her old teammates. The more she watched them though, the more she thought back on how she used to be. Just like them. Following simple, safe, but effective routines to get by. Content with taking no risks as they finished with a fake smile. Much like how they went through life. Like how Yuri used to when she was one of them. Yuri thought back on all the memories, good and bad, that she'd made since transferring to Kaijo. She knew which routine she wanted to go with as she stepped up and faced the judges, giving them a bright smile before moving to the side so that she could get a running start before mounting the bar.

'Even if I fall flat on my face, at least I'm taking a chance.' Yuri thought to herself as she took four hard steps and threw herself into a hand stand on to the launch board and into the air.

Gasps rang through the air as Yuri pulled her hands in and completed a full flip while landing gracefully on the beam. Mira punched the air as she was glad to see Yuri going with the second option. To cut loose and not give a damn about anything else but enjoying herself. Yuri seemed alive on the beam as she appeared graceful, but fearless as she twirled, flipped, jumped and spun atop the beam. On her dismount she utilized the full beam before launching into the air and performing a spinning front flip, nailing the landing. Her cheering section went wild as Yuri remembered to show her ending motion before running to Malacai and jumping into his arms.

"That's the best you've ever done! Hell yeah!" Malacai cheered as Yuri squealed to herself.

"How in the…." Yuki said to himself as he watched Yuri and Malacai celebrate as the silver haired girl took first place over his girls.

"Yuri wasn't that good when she was with us. Was she?" One of the guys asked as Yuki curled his hands into fists.

'We'll just see how long her luck can last.' Yuki thought as he spied Yuri's bag.

Pulling one of his pawns aside, he whispered his plan to him as the guy quickly caught on. While Yuri's group moved to the bars next and began some warm ups, the goon snuck over to Yuri's bag as she took her time on the bars. Once she was done, she tossed her hand grips into the bag and stepped away with Malacai to review her footage. It was then the goon pulled out the small pen knife he'd kept hidden and made two quick slashes in the grips before throwing them back in the bag. With the deed done, now all they had to do was wait for what was to come next.

"Chance?" Chase called out, watching how the guys snickered together off to the side.

"I saw Chase. Keep your eyes on them." Chance said lowly. Low enough for only one other sneak to hear them as the uneven bars competition began.

Much like the beams, it appeared to go by both slowly but fast. Yuri took deep breaths as she thought about the three big tricks she had planned for this part in the competition. The first one would be the one she needed to hit to set the tone. If she slipped up on it then she would be trying to play catch up from there. In her worry, Yuri neglected to see the tears in her grips. Once it was her turn, she turned and faced the judges before beginning on the short bar. She slowly gathered her speed as she performed a few spins and hand over hand walks before transitioning to the high bar. Now was the time. Yuri launched her body into the air and reached between her legs. She landed the flip and transitioned to the low bar where she performed her second big trick, a handstand. When she launched herself to the high bar once more is when it happened. Yuri felt herself lose grip on the bar as she fell through the air. On instinct she stuck her hands out and got her left hand too far underneath. She landed wrong as a pop could be heard. Yuri rolled off her hand and cradled it to her body as Malacai rushed to her side as she cried out in pain. Medics quickly rushed to Yuri and worked on calming her down as the twins felt their anger spike.

"Is she going to be okay?" Kanika whimpered as Kise placed a hand on her shoulder.

"She's getting up, but I think her hand is hurt bad." Kise whispered. No athlete wished to see someone else injured. Especially in the way Yuri had been hurt.

"Jason, take Kanika and Kise to check on Yuri. More than likely she'll need her hand wrapped to help brace it and keep swelling down." Mira said softly. But all recognized the tone in her voice. One that said she was contemplating something dangerous because she was pissed.

"Mira?" Kise faced his girlfriend who flashed him a smile, one without malice like he'd been expecting.

"Don't worry. We'll join you guys in a bit." Mira promised as she stood up with the two twins moving silent as death. "I'm playing supervisor this time."

"Come on. They'll be fine. It's probably better if it's those two anyways." Jason muttered as he shoved his clenched hands into his pockets.

While the others rushed to the infirmary to check on Yuri, Mira and the twins moved quickly. Having seen where the culprits had taken off after Yuri had been hurt, they had an idea as to where the rats where hiding out after seeing their handiwork. It didn't take the three long to sneak past event security to the lockers underneath. It took them even less time to find those responsible for what had happened. Raucous laughter could be heard as the twins peeked into the room to see those from earlier laughing at the dismay of Yuri.

"Well, well, look what we have here Chase." Chance chuckled darkly as he kicked the door open. The three boys inside visibly flinched upon hearing the loud crash of metal on cement.

"It would seem we have a gaggle of giggling fucktards." Chase hissed as his eyes flashed dangerously. Looking over each of the older boys in turn, showing that none were safe.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the guys asked as Mira stepped into the room. Fear coated their faces as they recognized the red head. "You!"

"You know, you think you would've learned that day. My mistake for giving you so much credit. But I won't make that mistake again. Correction—they won't." Mira motioned to the twins who were circling them like sharks as she leaned against the wall by the now closed door. For emphasis, Mira slowly clicked the lock into place so that no one could interrupt them.

"Y-You can't do this. You're a basketball player. We can have you banned from your club!" One of the guys threatened as he began to raise his phone. One quick movement from Chance sent it flying across the room and crashing into the wall.

"Oops. Seems it's broken." Chase shrugged as Chance snatched up the other phone.

"This one too." Chance threw it on the ground and stomped on it. "Seems you guys just don't have good luck with electronics."

"Yuki." The two whined as they looked to their ring leader who was smart and didn't risk his phone.

"So what now? You beat us up like a couple of thugs and get revenge for that weak Yuri? Are you two the latest to play with her?" Yuki laughed as he sneered at the twins. Before he could blink, Mira had already crossed the room and knocked the air out of him with a well placed punch.

"Oh relax you little bitch. I didn't even hit you hard enough to leave a mark." Mira huffed as Yuki crumpled to the floor, gasping for air as pain washed over him. "First of all, if Takeshita-chan's name comes out of your mouth once more I will knock your teeth out. Two, Takeshita-chan isn't as weak as you seem to think. You may think you broke her when you did what you did, but that's where you fucked up. She found us as friends. Whatever pieces you think you destroyed, we can give her bits of ourselves to build her up stronger. So your little plan to force her to quit tells me a few things. You fear her return because you don't want her to reveal your true self to those she left behind, minus your goons. You fear her talent, which is why you tried to sabotage her. And you figure you fucked up in chasing her off in the first place, so now you're going to make sure no one can have her. Which hits home personally for me. So I'm gonna put a stop to that shit right here and now." Mira snarled as Yuki looked up at her. "You're nothing but a pathetic excuse of a male and now you're going to see what happens when you try to harm my friend."

"What are you going to do to me?" Yuki whispered as Mira squatted down and wrapped an arm around his neck. Tightly.

"I'm not going to do anything more than what I have. See, I believe an eye for an eye. Since you didn't lift a finger to harm Yuri, I won't harm you. You gave orders to your goons to do your work. Which is exactly what I'm going to do with my two personal devils here." Mira's eyes flashed dangerously as Chance and Chase licked their lips, eager to tear into their prey.

_._._

"Well?" Kanika asked as Yuri moved her hand experimentally. She winced just from trying to bend her fingers, shaking her head in defeat.

"There's no way I can use this hand anymore today." Yuri cradled her injured hand in her lap as she sat on the bed surrounded by the others.

"What will you do?" Kise asked, placing a hand on her shoulder and rubbing it in a soothing way.

The room fell silent. Yuri was doing her best to ignore the pain shooting through her hand and up her arm. The medic on hand had advised Yuri to go to the hospital and get it looked at immediately. But when Kanika had shown up and offered to try and tape it, some part of her still hoped that she might have a chance to compete. But she couldn't even bend her fingers, let alone think about putting pressure on it for her floor routine. The event she'd most been looking forward to. Yuri's eyes began to tear up as she couldn't believe her debut was already being cancelled.

"You know that it wasn't your fault right? You were sabotaged." Jason finally spoke up. All eyes turned to him as he kept his eyes on his phone.

"What do you mean?" Malacai asked as Jason finally clicked the screen off and slid his phone back in his pocket.

"Mira just messaged me. She got a full confession from your ex-teammates. They sliced your grips before you performed." Jason said in a calm tone. But his pale eyes betrayed his demeanor as rage flowed through them.

"Come to think of it, I did see gashes. But I didn't know for sure….Damnit!" Malacai shouted as he kicked at the other bed in the room.

"Relax. Mira and the twins already took care of it. And don't worry pretty boy, there's no way they'll be able to out her and get Mira in trouble." Jason assured Kise who'd been fixing to question the red head's actions. "The question now is, are you going to roll over and let them get away with it? Well Yuri?"

Upon hearing her name, Yuri looked up at Jason who held her gaze. For once there was no malice, no anger, no hatred in his eyes. He was genuinely curious as to what she was going to do. His gaze saying that he would support her decision either way. Yuri couldn't help it as she hung her head, a soft smile gracing her lips. Already, the others were fighting so hard for her. How could she let them down now?

"Kanika, can you bind my left arm to me in a way that'll cradle my hand?" Yuri asked as she fought back the tears threatening to fall.

"Are you sure?" Kanika asked, but already willing to support her plan.

"I've seen how hard Kise-kun and West-chan have fought for their sport. I can't let them out do me." Yuri giggled as she looked to Kise.

"We'll be cheering for you like you always are for us." Kise promised as Kanika went to work.

With Yuri's arm secured in a comfortable position, she and Malacai rushed to make it in time for the floor routine. Before she stepped out on to the arena floor though, Yuri was gently stopped by Jason. He pulled her back to him as he placed a hand on her head while holding her against him. Yuri felt her face grow hot as Jason leaned down and placed his lips near her ear.

"Go show those bitches up." Jason whispered. Yuri turned to look back up at him. Confidence radiated from Jason as he released his grip on her. Yuri gave him one hard nod before rushing out to her stage.

"How bad was the damage?" Kise asked Mira and the waiting twins once they made it back up top. His eyes on Yuri who was preparing for her turn as Malacai quickly explained things to the judges.

"I didn't lay a hand on them. And don't worry, Chance and Chase know how not to leave marks." Mira smirked as an aura of smugness surrounded the twins.

"That's my girl." Kise wrapped an arm around her as Yuri stepped on to the floor. Ready for her chosen song to play as a soft smile appeared on her lips as she raised her one arm into the air.

 _Riddle me this, I gotta figure it out. Are they laughing at me because I'm prone to fear and doubt. Am I messed up, Am I loud? Well eat my dust that's all I am a speck out in the crowd._

The first of her routine started off with dance moves as she moved to one corner of the floor before striking a pose and going for her first tumble. With no fear or doubt in her mind, Yuri trusted her body as she launched into her routine. Her one arm bearing all her weight as she used her momentum to launch her into flip after flip, landing with just a slight misstep at the end due to her balance being off. Not letting it daunt her though as the music picked up, as well as her adrenaline.

 _I'm trying to clean up the mess I made, but the towel I used to soak up my worries it just went up in flames. You see I got a conscience like gasoline. I could siphon shit out, fuck it and leave, but I fuel the fire with everything they said. It's stuck in my mind, you're better off dead._

Even though her song was the clean version, she could hear those powerful bleated out words in her mind as she launched into another round of flips and twists. This time catching herself as she lost herself in the routine and the music. Hearing the vocals speak to her just like they had the first time she'd heard them during one of her practices as Mira had gone through her cool down with Jason helping to stretch her out. A song about fighting back, about not giving in to everything and anyone trying to tear you down. About letting all the negativity around you fuel your inner fire to help you rise up above it all and burn brighter than you ever had before.

 _If you got the keys, then start the car and drive as far as you can. If you've got the blood, then you got the heart to give yourself a chance. Seems like we've been so scarred, some people call it art. I hope you make peace with your pain, and never lose your flames._

Just as Yuri landed her final set of tricks, she finished with a powerful pose as her song slowly faded out. The stadium was filled with silence till Mira and Kanika simultaneously squealed and cheered for her. The guys followed suit as cheers and applause filled the stadium. Yuri could feel the excitement in the air as she looked around. Her performance had been far from flawless, but her energy had more than made up for it. Her message had been heard loud and clear. Yuri was trying to atone for her mistakes of the past and was not going to let her fear hold her back anymore. She was back. And fiercer than ever. It was then the pain made itself known as Malacai rushed to her side with her gear in tow.

"What'dya say we go get that hand looked at now?" He grinned, wrapping her jacket around her shoulders.

"Yeah." Yuri nodded, feeling exhaustion hit her body as they made their way towards the entrance.

Feeling eyes on her, Yuri turned to see her old teammates glaring at her. She held her head high as the girls opened their mouths to say something, snapping them just as quickly as they looked past Yuri to something else. Yuri herself turned to see the others all there and ready to back her up. Seeing that the silverette was no longer an easy target, they took off without a word. Yuki's gaze lasting the longest until he locked eyes with Jason. If he'd thought Mira had been scary, he knew pissing that giant off would seal his fate. With his tail tucked between his legs, Yuki left them alone for good.

"Coward." Jason scoffed before moving to Yuri's side. "Way to leave everyone speechless out there."

"Thanks." Yuri smiled as conversation picked up amongst the group once more.

"Hospital first, then food. I am starving." Mira called out as Kise seconded the idea.

"So, what exactly did you do to those guys? They looked as white as sheets." Malacai laughed upon recalling the scared looks on Yuki's goons faces.

"We only did as Mira instructed." The two sang out as all eyes fell to Mira.

"As long as we don't lose our point guard." Kanika whimpered, ignoring the 'v' Mira was flashing her.

"West-chan wouldn't risk getting kicked out of the Winter Cup. After all, two more games and Kaijo wins it right? We gotta cheer then on to victory, right guys?" Yuri asked the boys who whole heartedly seconded her.

"You're officially one of us now." Jason chuckled, placing his hand back on her head as Yuri just leaned into him. Whether she placed or not after today's events, Yuri had already won something greater than a medal that day. A place to belong and friends whom she could depend on no matter what.

* * *

Yuri finally got to take center stage! I had to give the girl her time to shine since making her and Mira buddies. Plus we got a reminder as to why everyone really fears the twins and Mira he he. The chapters to come will get back to the basketball, but I may have to take a short hiatus for them purely because I need to rewatch season 3 to make sure I make the rematch between Rakuzan and Kaijo as good as it can be. I don't want to half ass it and then hate it, and you guys hate it, and a huge riot starts and lets just say I'm not fond of hiding from pitchfork wielding mobs.

In the mean time I will upload on another story I'm working on and I also have a Fairy Tail story in the works for any fans of that series as well! But that'll be a slow go as well since the newest season for that just aired and I want to keep everything as close to the original story line as possible. However my story will take place after season 3 so no timeline contingencies! Okay, I'm done ranting. Hope you all enjoyed!


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